Stay
by Lalis
Summary: During the sleepover at Sikowitz's, Jade wasn't the one who got her hand burned - she was actually the last one standing. Hours later, Tori is visited by a traumatized, half-naked Jade at the edge of a breakdown. Here's what happens. Jori in future chapters. WARNING: MENTIONS OF RAPE AND POSSIBLY PTSD.
1. Stay

_**A/N:**__ In this story, Beck was the one who burned his hand at Sikowitz's house. Here's what follows. WARNING: mentions of rape and PTSD._

* * *

After Beck left his car keys in Jade's purse and was put in a cab to go to the hospital – since he insisted Sikowitz should stay home and see the end of his challenge – things began to change in the house. Tori and Jade were the only ones left in the teacher's living room; Jade in her cowgirl outfit, Tori with the raisin bran in hands, each trying to make the other crack.

It happened almost at the same time; the sleep deprivation and annoyance turned the sweet farm girl back into angry Jade, making the loud police officer squeak out a response that couldn't hide her true identity.

They were both already out the door when Sikowitz beckoned Jade back inside the house, and she shrugged at Tori.

"Walk home, officer."

Just like that, she vanished into the teacher's living room, leaving the latina to roam the streets until she could find a cab to take her back home.

* * *

It was around three in the morning when Tori Vega was awakened by the sound of her doorbell. Her parents had gone away for the night, her sister was sound asleep, traces of the red lipstick still faintly visible around her mouth. A grunt escaped her lips as she hurried down the stairs, and the sound wouldn't stop.

Tori's irritation quickly faded into worry when she opened the door to a sight that, to this day, she wishes she could erase from her mind.

The girl on the other side of the door wore nothing more than thin black panties and a red shirt to which all the buttons were somehow gone, leaving it hanging open in front of her body. The makeup around her blue eyes was smeared, and the look in them was of pure desperation.

"Jade! What happened? Come on in!" Tori practically squeaked, making room for the girl to step into the house, which she did without a word. To the latina's numerous questions, all she responded with was a blank, wide-eyed, fearful stare, which only made Tori's concern grow.

"Uhm… Here." The latina's hands were clumsy when she picked up a thin blanket from the top of the couch and draped it around the other girl's shoulders; Jade immediately clutched the ends of the blanket close to her beaten body like it was the only thing holding her together.

"Do you want me to call anyone?" And the first response she got that night was just a negative shake of the head, but she'd take it. Something extremely serious had happened. Jade was never quiet, never scared – and here was a broken girl who had driven to Tori's house in her underwear, probably crying. The amount of wrong in this sentence was overwhelming.

Very gently, a tan hand reached out for a blanket-covered shoulder, and it was the first time since they'd met that Jade didn't flinch away.

"Do you want to stay over?"

A nod. Eyes on the floor. Cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. It all made Tori's chest feel tight; she'd take the icy, rude Jade over this one any day. At least that one wasn't broken and didn't make her feel… Well, like crying at the sight.

"Come upstairs, then. I'll lend you some pajamas. Does anything hurt? I could get you some Tylenol."

Jade just shook her head and made her way upstairs, disappearing up the staircase. Tori followed soon after, a glass of water in each hand.

The water was sipped once, twice, three times in a row, then forgotten on the nightstand. The pajamas were put on almost instantly, frantic hands pulling down on fabric like they were hiding an important secret. The sheets were pulled over a trembling body, the blue eyes still glassy and wide open, hands making tight fists.

At a complete loss of words to say or offers to make that would give some comfort to the girl on her bed, Tori was about to turn the lights out and head to the living room, when something made her freeze.

A word. The first word spoken – barely audible; a weak, broken whisper – by Jade that night. And it was so soft, so undemanding; only a single word that sounded more like a plea… It didn't even occur Tori to resist.

"Stay…"

And she stayed. A second body joined Jade's under the sheets, the dark brown eyes searching the blue ones for any clue, any minor sign of what or who had hurt that girl so badly she couldn't speak.

"I'm here." Tori murmured softly, trying her hardest to offer any reassurance she could. "I don't know what happened to you, but you're safe here, okay? Just… Close your eyes and try to sleep."

"Scared…"

The whisper that escaped Jade's lips was a word the latina didn't know even existed in her vocabulary. Without giving it so much as a second thought, Tori laced her fingers tightly through the pale ones, a small smile curling her lips.

"I'm here. And I'll be here with you the whole night."

The next half hour was filled with soft whispers, Tori reassuring Jade that she wasn't going to be alone at any moment that night, and the raven-haired girl trying to take deep breaths and calm herself, her eyes squeezed shut. Gradually, exhaustion began to wash over the girl, her body very slowly relaxing, but her hand never leaving Tori's, even as they both drifted off into an uneasy, but still deep slumber.


	2. Promise

A/N: You guys! I was shocked (in a really good way) to see how many people have started following the story. Thank you all so much!

* * *

When Tori woke up, it took her a few seconds to remember what was going on. There was a warm hand in hers, one she hadn't let go of the whole night. There was a warm body by her side, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the closed eyes and slightly spread lips of Jade West. On her bed. Holding her hand and wearing her pajamas.

And then the night before came crashing back to her. The indescribable look of fear in her schoolmate's eyes, the skimpy clothing, the way her body trembled even as she lay down.

The next thing that dawned on Tori was that she desperately needed to pee, so she carefully let go of Jade's hand and ran to the bathroom, only to come back after a minute and find the other girl sitting up on her bed.

"Well… Good morning."

"Morning."

At least her voice was a lot better. Still hoarse, but not just a whisper anymote. That was a good sign… Right?

"Are you feeling better?" She asked hesitantly, moving closer towards the bed, but never averting her gaze from Jade's eyes.

"Nope. Just less shocked."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Not that I can think of."

They stayed in silence for a long moment after that. Just the brown eyes studying the blue ones, both at a loss for words. The quietness was only broken by the sound of Jade's phone vibrating.

"Will you get it for me?" She asked Tori politely. That wasn't Jade. The ice queen of Hollywood Arts High School never asked, she demanded. She yelled, never whispered. And yet there she was, huddled on Tori's bed, pressing her back to the wall and her knees to her chest, still looking completely lost.

Tori fished the black PearPhone from the pocket of the torn red shirt on the floor and handed it to her schoolmate, peeking curiously at the screen. Seven missed calls and six texts, all from Beck, except for one call from her mother.

_Babe, let me know when you get home._

_ Jade? Are you home yet?_

_It's impossible that you haven't gotten Tori to crack yet. I'm starting to worry. Of course, you're probably passed out in Sikowitz's couch._

_I'm going to bed. Message me when you wake up, just so I know everything's okay._

_My God, West, you're a sound sleeper._

_Officially worried. It's almost noon. I've called you like six times already. Please call me back as soon as you can._

"Well… Are you gonna call him, or do you want me to?" The latina asked gently, to which Jade responded with a slight nod and handed the cell phone back to her schoolmate.

Sighing softly, Tori sat back on the bed and pressed the button to call the pale girl's boyfriend, intending to say as little as possible.

"Babe!" Beck's voice was clearly relieved. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Beck, it's Tori. Jade's here at my place."

The confusion in the boy's voice was evident.

"Jade… Is at your house? Willingly? What's going on?"

A quick glance at Jade, and she shook her head vigorously, her eyes wide.

"She just… Your car was low on gas and she didn't want to have to stop at a gas station in the middle of the night, and my house was closest."

Jade nodded in approval, a tiny smile curving her lips.

"Oh, okay. Well… Can I talk to her?" Beck was suspicious. Obviously.

"She's in the shower."

And then the phone was snatched away from Tori's hand, almost immediately replaced by Jade's pale fingers, squeezing the tan ones in search for support.

"Hey, I just got out of the shower. My phone was dead, so Tori lent me her charger, but by the time you called again I was asleep. I'll call you later, okay?"

Just like that, she hung up, not even waiting for an answer; her head leaned back, her chest rising and falling quickly as she tried to calm herself down, and her hand clutching Tori's painfully hard.

_A simple phone call to her boyfriend put her in this state. She's panicking. I've never seen Jade panic. Apparently, neither has she. What could have possibly hurt her that much?_

"Jade… Breathe deep. It's okay." Tori squeezed the girl's hand just as tightly, not really minding the pain. "It's okay. Whatever got to you isn't gonna reach you in here, alright? You can stay as long as you need to. Just breathe…"

"How do you know?" There it was. The same voice from the night before. Broken, weak, barely above a whisper. It broke Tori's heart.

"Because I won't let it happen again." She spoke resolutely, even though the words were as empty as any others. How could she even try to protect her schoolmate, if she didn't have a clue what the girl needed protection from?

"Promise?"

The look in Jade's eyes was nothing like the latina had ever seen. It almost felt like an intrusion to share that look – every ounce of trust she had was hanging upon that question, uninhibited and completely exposed just for Tori.

There was no other answer she could give.

"Promise."


	3. Goober

**A/N:** _This chapter is a little longer, yay! And I already have the next one all written out. Maybe if you give me some love in the form of reviews, I'll post it tomorrow morning... :) Thank you all so much for the reviews and follows and favorites!_

* * *

That Monday morning, anyone who saw or talked to Jade would think there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. She might have been a little meaner, perhaps a little quieter, but nothing that couldn't be explained by PMS or not having slept enough. Regular Jade West, strutting around the school in her black outfit, holding her head high and speaking as if she owned the place and everybody in it.

Tori, however, was seeing her schoolmate from a whole new perspective. It was like that moment in a TV show when the audience knows something the characters don't, and that bit of information changes the way they view the entire program. In the smallest actions – the way those blue eyes darted around every room she entered, the slightly baggier-than-usual black sweater she wore – she saw the Jade from Friday night, and from Saturday morning, and the Jade who left her house on Saturday afternoon with the promise that she'd be alright at her own place.

The only other person who noticed something off about Jade that morning was Beck Oliver, whose smile upon meeting her was not returned, and whose arm around her shoulder was met with a hard shove.

"Babe?" He asked softly, having already learned long ago not to insist on physical contact when the girl wasn't in the mood. "What's going on? You've been acting weird since Friday."

"Don't talk about it. Just get used to it." She bit her lip, eyes on the floor, and clutched her books to her chest so tightly, her breasts were squished behind them. Beck didn't question the action, didn't even raise an eyebrow; just escorted her to the classroom like a proper gentleman.

A proper gentleman who didn't notice how his girlfriend was trembling slightly as they entered the room, or how she didn't loosen her tight grasp on her books even as they sat down, her eyes wide and fixed on the board.

From the other side of the classroom, Tori's eyes travelled from Jade to Sikowitz and back. She couldn't concentrate on his incessant rambling; instead, the situation with her raven-haired schoolmate was the most prominent thing in her mind.

As the class went on, she began to notice things.

Like how Jade cowered slightly every time Sikowitz's gaze fell upon her. This couldn't be a sign of anything good.

Wait a minute…

"I'd like to congratulate you kids for your fantastic performance on Friday. Of course, some were better than others…" Sikowitz shot Cat a significant glare, and she just giggled. "But everyone was committed to their characters, and that's wonderful. Now. Miss… Betty Sue Goldenheart." He wiggled his eyebrows at Jade, who just sank further down in her chair. "Did you get home okay?"

She nodded curtly, biting at her lower lip; her eyes never leaving the teacher for a second. As Beck tried to take her hand with his only good one, she let it rest on top of hers, but made no move to grasp it back.

Tori was distracted from her observations when her phone vibrated in her pocket. A text from Beck.

_Did I do something to my girlfriend and not realize it?_

_ I don't think it was you…_

Beck lifted an eyebrow at Tori, then at his girlfriend, who was still staring at the board as if her life depended on it.

_Then who? And what?_

_ I don't know._

_ Tell me what you *do* know, Vega._

She decided on telling just half the story. If Jade didn't want her boyfriend to know what had happened on Friday night, then he wouldn't. But he cared about her a whole lot, and he deserved to know at least the harmless parts.

_We were leaving Sikowitz's house when he called her back in to talk. I took a cab home. At like 3AM, she appeared at my place with your car. Mumbled something about it being out of gas. Slept over. You called._

_ So you don't know why she's all weird?_

_ I have my suspicions, but nothing solid._

_ Crap. BTW, it's so annoying to type with just one hand._

Tori had to let out a little chuckle at this.

"Officer P'Desko, can you please put that phone away before I do it for you?" Sikowitz groaned.

"Sorry…"

The class went on like any other; Andre and Tori volunteered to do the first scene of the day, in which the challenge was to do a series of actions and make the other guess what they were doing, eliciting much laughter from the whole class. Well… Almost the whole class.

The next scene was about a robbery. Beck was the mugger, Cat was the victim, and every line had to begin with the last letter of the previous one. Cat giggled as Beck pressed a finger to the back of her head, making a flimsy finger-gun, his other hand tucked in his pocket to hide the bandages.

"Give me your money!" He yelled with his best mean face.

"You're crazy if you think I'm giving you my wallet!" Cat spun on her heels, a hand on her waist, snapping her fingers like a stereotypical black woman in a sitcom.

"Try and stop me." He pointed the finger-gun at her, smirking.

"Enough with your silliness, you… Goober!"

"Goober?"

The next sound they heard was the noise Sikowitz always made when someone messed up.

"Wrong! Beck, your line was supposed to start with the letter R! Robbie, come on up."

"Cat, you're a goober." Beck stuck his tongue out jokingly at her and went back to his seat beside his girlfriend, who gave him a little smile, mouthing the word 'goober' in a teasing tone.

Robbie practically hopped onto the stage, assuming the position Beck had just left.

"Regret! You will regret having defied me, woman!"

The little redhead couldn't help a giggle.

"No! I won't give you my wallet! It was a gift from my late husband!"

"Don't be dramatic. If I'm not getting money… I want something else."

Everyone's eyes went a little wide, smirks forming on almost all of their lips, and Sikowitz's eyebrows arching.

"Children…"

But Cat and Robbie were way too far into the joke.

"Exactly what do you want from me, you dweeb?" Cat rested both her hands on her hips, smirking.

It took Robbie a moment to stop laughing at his own stupid joke and actually make it.

"Bend over."

And then the color was drained from Jade's face, and she was bolting out of the classroom, her bag forgotten on the floor as she ran outside as fast as her legs could take her.

The realization of what had happened dawned on Tori and Beck simultaneously as if an anvil had just hit them on the chest, and they didn't wait for Sikowitz to finish scolding the children. All they did was grab their own bags and Jade's, and storm off to look for the girl all over the school.


	4. I think she does

_Where are you? Tori and I are coming._

_ Jade, where are you? I'm coming with Beck._

No answer to either of their phones. Together, they searched the most obvious places – the Black Box theater, the janitor's closet, Tori entered the girls' bathroom – but to no avail.

"Where the heck could she be?" Beck huffed as they walked out to where they usually had lunch, the place still completely deserted – it was only ten in the morning, after all.

"Did you know about this?"

"Nope." Tori sighed as she led the boy up the staircase. "I only knew she'd been hurt. I didn't know how."

As they got to the large balcony where Tori and Andre had performed a song just a few weeks before, they finally came across Jade, sitting on the floor, surrounded by the remains of a thick magazine that had probably fallen victim to her scissors.

Beck was the first to come close to the girl, but didn't dare touch her. Tori followed right after, each of them sitting at one side of Jade.

"They all know now, don't they?"

She said it coldly, emotionlessly, as if she were talking about a bug on the wall. But both her boyfriend and Tori could clearly see the look in her eyes – so openly sad, it was scary.

"They won't comment on it. We're not gonna let this get out." Beck affirmed sternly, daring to move a bit closer, their bodies touching – making Jade immediately scooch away. "Sorry. I don't know what's okay and what's not."

"I don't, either." The pale girl sighed, dropping her gaze to the floor. "Everything just feels weird. Wrong. I don't know."

"Jade…" Tori spoke hesitantly. "Can we… Can you tell us who it was?" She had her suspicions, but this kind of accusation is far too serious to make without absolute certainty.

The brunette shook her head vigorously.

"Never ask this question again."

"Sorry."

The black phone rang in Jade's hands, but she just ignored it, a little redhead's face showing on the screen.

"It wasn't their fault. Cat and Robbie's, I mean. They just made a rude joke. I wasn't supposed to run away like a big old wuss." She groaned. "I'll go apologize to them. _Alone_."

And then she just spun on her heels and left, leaving Tori and Beck to wonder about the big question hanging above their heads.

Beck was the one who said it out loud.

"So you say she was alone with Sikowitz the last time you saw her."

"Yep."

The silence weighed on them, the inevitable conclusion almost making their heads ache.

"You're thinking the same as I am, aren't you?"

"She literally shrank on her seat when he looked at her."

Silence again. The dots that had already been connected were begging to be mentioned aloud, to be named. It was Tori who did it.

"So Sikowitz did it."

"Sikowitz… Raped my girlfriend."

The boy dropped down to lie on his back, on the floor, his face hidden in his hand as an angry groan escaped him.

"I left Jade alone with a rapist."

"Me too. We couldn't have known." Tori sighed, joining her friend in the same position. "We couldn't, right? We weren't completely irresponsible… Leaving her alone with our lunatic teacher… Who was always very, very questionable?"

"It's not our fault." Beck's words were a lot more confident than his voice.

"Is there anything we can do now?"

"Just give her some space to figure things out. Be with her when she's okay with it. And not let her be alone with him ever, ever again."

"Beck?"

"Yeah?"

"I love her, you know. In a friendly way. I mean, I know she hates me, but I-" Tori didn't even know where the monologue was coming from, but she didn't feel like stopping. All the emotions she didn't quite understand were suddenly pouring out of her in confused words. "I know she hates me, but I never hated her. I've been angry a lot. I've wanted to slap her across the face a lot, but never hated her. Ever. And I'm here too, you know. For whatever's necessary. If she ever comes to me again, it doesn't have to be out of desperation. I hope she knows that."

The only thing Beck did was chuckle slightly at the latina's stream of semi-related thoughts and pat her arm with his one good hand.

"I think she does."

* * *

**A/N:** _Thank you all so much for the support. I can't stress that enough. Writing this is a LOT of fun and I'm happy. And I'm sorry this one is a bit shorter. I'll make up for it on the next chapter, okay?_

_Now, for some things that have been said in the reviews, I need to stress two points:_

_1. Be careful with your assumptions, grasshopper._

_2. I know it's more Bade than Jori for now, but it WILL evolve into Jori eventually._

_See you all next time!_


	5. Piping down

_Two weeks later…_

It was the middle of a Theater History class – a very boring one at that – when a note, written in some rather messy calligraphy, was passed onto Tori's hands.

_I can't fucking take this anymore, Vega. Janitor's closet. NOW._

Seeing as the 'now' was in all capitals and underlined three times, Tori thought it'd be a little dangerous to say no. She was beginning to see Jade under a whole new light, but that didn't mean the girl wasn't scary anymore.

The latina left only two minutes after Jade, who only looked at her when they were safely locked in the small closet.

"Okay. What's going on?"

"I can't take it!" The girl screamed, back to her usual bossy, high pitch. "I just- I can't! This is too fucking much!"

"Just pipe down! What's too much? What can't you take?" Tori tried to keep her voice soft, but it came out as a pathetic attempt to not freak out. Angry Jade was still a very threatening sight.

Especially when an innocent response was followed by a frustrated growl and a hard smack of the girl's fist to the wall, making Tori jump up.

"This! Everyone's talking to me like- like I'm about to have a stupid breakdown at any moment! You don't yell at me anymore. Beck is scared to touch me."

"Well, to be fair, you…"

"Let me finish, Vega! Robbie keeps asking if I need something like I'm some kind of invalid. Cat insists that _a hug a day makes the sads go away._ And Andre- well, he's okay, I guess. But _ugh! _Not to mention the rest of Sikowitz's stupid class. They all stare at me and kind of cringe away. Not out of fear like it used to be, but as if I have some kind of disease."

As Jade spoke, she fished the scissors out of her pocket and began frantically searching for something to cut. Tori ended up handing her a big cardboard box, to which she thanked her quietly.

"Every conversation has to revolve around me and what happened to me." She groaned, the scissors working hysterically on destroying the box. "Every conversation that doesn't is so measured. As if I'll have a big flip-out if they say one freaking wrong word."

"They're just concerned about you. We all are, actually." Tori shrugged, her eyes fixed on the box being quickly cut to pieces."I mean… I don't think anyone knows how to react in this kind of situation."

"Yeah, well I feel like I have _victim _written in neon on my forehead."

There was already a pile of cardboard on the floor when Jade crossed her arms defensively against her chest.

"Then how can we help?"

"By not trying so hard to help. I mean…" She sighed, a little more calmly now that she'd already taken her anger out on a pair of scissors. "I know I'm not myself yet, but I'm trying. I'm trying hard to just ignore everything. Would be great not to be reminded of the R word every time I look at or talk to any of my friends."

"I'll spread the word, then." The latina shrugged. It was clear that Jade was far from okay, but if what she wanted was for things to go back to just the way they were, that's what she'd get. "What about Beck?"

"What about him?"

"I'm just curious. How are you guys doing?"

"I haven't been able to really kiss him yet." Jade let out a shaky sigh, clutching her jacket closer to her body. "Just tiny pecks on the lips. God, this is ridiculous. I have to go. Thanks, Vega."

And then she stormed out of the tiny closet, leaving Tori alone to think.

* * *

_**HappyCat: **__Hi, guys! Wanna do something this weekend?_

_**AndreH: **__Like what?_

_**HappyCat: **__I was thinking about a movie marathon. Disney movies! I'll bake cookies and we'll order some pizza and maybe we can turn it into a group slumber party! How about it?_

_**ToriVega: **__I'm in!_

_**GotBeck: **__Count me in too!_

_**ScissorLuv: **__Kay._

_**RockRobster: **__Great! I just have to find Rex's pajamas…_

_**AndreH: **__Cool. I'm in. At your place, Cat?_

_**HappyCat: **__Nope. My brother doesn't like it when we have too many people over… Who aren't his friends, at least. How about Andre's?_

_**AndreH: **__No can do, kitty cat. Grandma has been even crazier than usual._

_**GotBeck: **__I'd offer my trailer, but let's face it. It's tiny._

_**ScissorLuv: **__You guys do not want to see my dad. Believe me. And I'm not going to Robbie's under any circumstances! His house must be like that ventriloquist puppet sanctuary I saw online. It's not the good kind of creepy._

_**RockRobster: **__Hey! It's not! My house is normal!_

_**ScissorLuv: **__Whatever, puppet boy. I'm not going there._

_**ToriVega: **__Guys, guys! We can do it at my place. I don't think my parents will mind, and Trina is going away with our cousins this weekend._

_**AndreH: **__Deal._

_**ScissorsLuv: **__I'm fine with it._

_**GotBeck: **__Cool. Who needs a ride?_

_**HappyCat: **__I do, I do! Yay!_

_**RockRobster: **__Alright, so it's a deal! Saturday afternoon, Tori's place?_

_**GotBeck: **__I'll download the movies._

_**HappyCat: **__I'll bake the cookies for us!_

* * *

**_A/N: _**_You might think I was stalling a bit with this chapter. I wasn't. It's just that adding the slumber party scene here would make it a ridiculously long chapter, whereas not mentioning it whatsoever would make it far too short. Plus, I'm not feeling too creative today, so. Please review, and thank you so much for the kind comments, follows, and favorites!_


	6. The L Word

So far, things were going as smoothly as ever.

_The Lion King _was followed by a fantastic rendition of _Hakuna Matata _with Andre, Beck and Robbie, making the girls burst into laughter at Andre's impression of Pumba. The chocolate chip cookies Cat made were quickly nibbled on and even more quickly put away, followed by a loud "I thought it was sugar!". Pizza was ordered and eaten hungrily by the six friends, all during _Mulan, _and it was the girls' time to take turns singing _Make a Man out of You _and be loudly cheered by the boys.

All throughout the first two movies, the pizza, the singing and the jokes, everything seemed to be going great. Jade was apparently her usual bossy self, except for when Robbie had the brilliant idea of coming up behind her and yelling "boo" – which elicited a loud yelp and a punch to the boy's face. Even though it took her a few minutes to stop her shaky hands, they eventually went back to normal, although Robbie took a little longer.

"Jade, I'm still sorry. I mean, I didn't…"

"Oh my God, Robbie!" She groaned in frustration. "You startled me. I punched you. We're even, okay? Now please stop talking about it!"

"But I…"

"Dude. Knock it off or I will." Tori huffed from the kitchen as she finished pouring the sodas for everyone. "Now can we please put _Bambi _on? I haven't seen that movie since I was like… Four."

When the film started, though, something strange began to happen.

It all began when they sat down to see the movie. Tori, Robbie, Andre and Beck sat on the couch, while Jade settled down on the floor, with her back pressed to her boyfriend's legs, and Cat took a seat next to her, crossing her legs like a toddler.

As the scene where Bambi's mother died approached, Cat wouldn't stop whining about how much she hated that scene, and when it actually happened, the little redhead whimpered and hid her face on Jade's neck, clutching her arm tight. Strangely, Jade didn't seem to mind, not averting her eyes from the screen or pulling away at all, even when Cat nestled her head on the girl's lap.

Even more strangely, Tori was unreasonably annoyed by the action. Her gaze kept going from the girls to the screen and back, and every time she looked at Jade and Cat on the floor, she let out a quiet huff.

The latina herself couldn't understand her irritation. Maybe she was jealous of their friendship. Maybe she actually did want to be closer to Jade, but definitely not close enough that they could huddle against each other like that and have it feel natural. Right?

Definitely. Just like when Jade started running her fingers distractedly through the girl's silky red locks. That wasn't the kind of friendship to have with Tori. Cat was just like a child. Not even meant to be taken seriously. _At least she relies on me when she's desperate in the middle of the night and needs to hold someone's hand or she won't fall asleep. Not on dumb Cat. Wait, where did that come from?_

It was a good thing Beck interrupted her inner monologue.

"Guys, guys! I have to pee. Can you pause for a second?"

"Yeah, as soon as your girlfriend and Cat quit reenacting a scene from _The L Word_." Tori groaned quietly, but loud enough for the girls to hear, and for Jade to roll her eyes at the latina.

"Dude. What's the matter with you?"

"Nothing. Sorry. I guess I'm just PMSing or something." She sighed. There was no use in arguing, since her annoyance really was unjustified.

"I think Tori needs a good cuddle, too." The redhead shrugged, giggling as she got off of Jade's lap and climbed onto the couch, her arms wrapping tightly around Tori's shoulder. "Better?"

Tori couldn't help but laugh and hug her back, feeling slightly guilty for her rude thoughts about Cat.

"Yeah, much better. Thanks."

"I'll cuddle you." Rex's little plastic hand tapped the latina's shoulder, only to be met with a little smirk. The next thing either of them knew was that Tori snatched the puppet away from Robbie's hand and put him on her lap, and didn't let go of Rex until the movie was over.

The sky was already a gorgeous palette of orange, pink and blue when the films were over and the conversation began to slur, increasingly frequent yawns permeating the words exchanged by the six friends. By that time, they had all changed into their pajamas and helped Tori set out a few mattresses on the living room floor.

As Tori settled down under the blanket, she smiled to herself. Enjoying a handful of childhood nostalgia with her five best friends and laughing with them until her throat was sore was truly one of the best ways to spend a Saturday night.

Yet before she closed her eyes, when she caught a glimpse of Jade and Beck's hands linked tightly together as they slept, she couldn't help but wonder what was that strange tightness in her chest.

* * *

_**A/N: **Yay, a Jori moment! Sort of. I'm happy about this. Very happy. Thank you for all the reviews, and please keep them coming!_


	7. Bugs

You know it's going to be a busy day when you wake up to three texts from your best male friend reminding you to bring the science project you're working on together so you can finish it in class. When Tori walked into the classroom after the bell had already rung, with the baby rabbit in his cage, she realized her morning predictions were completely right.

"Tori Vega. You're late." The teacher groaned without looking at her while she made her way to her seat as silently as possible. As soon as she was seated, Andre poked at her side with a frown.

"Yes, I know. I'm late. But little Bugs here is safe and sound." She stuck a finger between the bars of the little cage, smiling when the bunny sniffed curiously at it. "How's Babbity?"

"She's with my mom." The boy shrugged, and that's as far as the conversation went before Sinjin interrupted them with wide eyes, his long fingers slipping into the cage for the rabbit to sniff.

"You like it, Sinjin?" Andre smiled proudly. "We're feeding them the same thing at the same time, but one of them is being kept at home with minimal human contact for two weeks, and we bring the other one to school every day to see if there's a difference in their growth."

"And if there isn't, we'll pretend there is, because we need the grade." Tori shrugged, staring at the little furry creature in the cage. Only then did she realize that three of the pale boy's fingers had these strange little scars all over them, but she decided not to ask. It was Sinjin, after all.

It was also Sinjin who opened the cage without asking for permission and picked up the bunny, holding him for just a second before the curious little animal hopped off of his arms and went to explore the school, eliciting a sharp gasp from Tori and Andre.

And so erupted a big rabbit hunt all over Hollywood Arts.

Bugs managed to hop his way in and out of two bathrooms, five classrooms and all over the Black Box theater, and then he completely disappeared. Tori, Andre, Robbie and two other kids split up to search for the furry thing, but up until the bell rang for Sikowitz's class, nothing.

"Our science project! Gone!" Tori grumbled as she walked into the classroom with the empty cage in her hands. "Poor little Bugs."

"Bugs, you say?"

Ever since she found out about the incident with Sikowitz, Tori couldn't look the man in the eye. All she could do in his class was stare quietly at the board and act her best on demand, but never direct a word to him unless it was absolutely necessary. Which is why she pretended not to hear his question and just turned to Andre to complain some more.

"Tori Vega. Why so grouchy lately?" Sikowitz crossed his arms and stared intently at the girl, who made a point out of looking straight into the cage and not uttering a response, even as the classroom began to fill.

When the lesson was already starting, though, Jade rushed in with something squirming in her hands.

"Guys! Look who I found in the bathroom!"

"Bugs!" Tori and Andre squealed at the same time, making Jade's eyes go wide as she cradled the furry creature against her chest.

"Bugs? Is this cute little guy yours?" She chuckled, running her fingers slowly through the soft thick fur. "Why did you guys bring him here?"

"He's our science project!"

Tori rushed to pick up the bunny and get him back into the cage, smiling wide at him.

"So he's not yours." Andre picked up the cage, and Tori just shook her head no at the pretty brunette. "Could I… I mean, do you have any plans for him after the science fair?"

There was a cute expression on Jade's face, kind of like an excited child expecting a gift. Something about it made Tori's chest feel warm, and she couldn't help a big smile.

"All yours. You can pick him up when the fair is over."

The grin she received made her chest even warmer, and her mind even more confused about why it meant so much to see Jade happy. Maybe they were closer friends than she thought.

* * *

As soon as the bell rang and Sikowitz's classroom was slowly becoming empty, Tori heard a sentence that made her freeze.

"Jade, stay after they leave."

Both Tori and Beck shot up and made wide eyes at the man. Tori bit her lip, Beck crossed his arms, and the first sigh of exasperation came from the boy's lips.

"Really, Sikowitz? Really?"

"She only stays if I get to stay too."

"Tori, I think your friend is old enough to stick around for a conversation alone with her teacher." Sikowitz spoke condescendingly, his eyes locked on Jade's. The girl's blue orbs were wide, an incredulous expression on her face, as she just stared at the teacher, her boyfriend, and Tori.

"Guys, what is the matter with you? I can handle myself." Jade exclaimed in an outraged tone.

"Babe, I'm not- we're not gonna let this happen."

"Let _what _happen?" She growled.

"Jade, I know you don't want us to talk about it, but are we really gonna stand by and pretend nothing happened here? What if it happens again?"

The words made Jade gasp and take a step back, her eyes visibly closing up.

"Vega, what the fuck?"

"Yes, Vega, what's going on here?"

And the next thing any of them knew was that Beck was taking a big step closer to the teacher, looking angrier than he ever had.

"We know you raped my girlfriend, and I'm sure as fuck not gonna let you anywhere near her ever again! You're lucky we didn't call the police on you, and the only reason we didn't is that she doesn't want us to!"

"It wasn't Sikowitz, you ass!" Jade practically screamed, throwing her bag over her shoulder angrily. "And I can take care of myself just fucking fine!"

With that, she stormed out, leaving Tori, Beck and Sikowitz in the most uncomfortable silence they had ever experienced.

* * *

_**A/N: **__Oooh, a twist! An angsty chapter! Yay for all of us. The next one may take a little longer, since I'm studying for the last month of school exams before the July break and I won't be able to post once a day anymore. But I promise it won't take too long. Kay? Kay._


	8. Just go

Tori and Beck exchanged a helpless look.

"Sikowitz, we…"

"We didn't mean to…"

"Quit stammering and go check on Jade. We'll talk later." It was the first time they had ever heard the teacher speak in such a serious tone. The disappointment was clear in his voice, and Tori didn't know what she felt worse about – assuming their favorite teacher had done something that terrible, or making Jade run away again.

"I'm sorry." She sighed.

"I'm sorry too. Really." Beck mumbled, his voice full of regret.

"We'll talk about it later. Now go after her."

And so they did. This time it didn't take them long to find Jade, turning an old rag to small shreds with a big pair of scissors in the janitor's closet. She didn't look their way or even move, just sighed.

"I don't want to see or talk to either of you. _Especially _you, Beck."

"Babe…"

"Get. OUT!" She roared, and Beck didn't have the courage to say no. He just muttered an apology and left Tori and Jade in the closet, in an awkward, heavy silence.

"Can I stay? I came to apologize. Profusely."

"Two minutes, Vega. You know what? No. I'm going to talk here, and you just shut your mouth and listen." Jade moved in closer to the girl, her eyes blazing with anger. "You had no right to do this! To accuse Sikowitz of- of something as terrible as this, based on what? Guesswork? Are you a goddamn CSI now, Vega? And even if you were right, how come you just waltz in there, assume I need help, and get all knight in shining fucking armor on me?"

"I'm sorry. You're- you're kind of my friend, and I…" Tori seemed to shrink in her sweater, holding onto the sleeves tightly as she watched Jade talk. She could see the hurt in the blue orbs, much more than Jade herself would like to admit, and it just made Tori's heart ache that much more.

"You listen to me, Victoria. I am _not _some helpless little girl you need to protect, and I don't need anything from you! I needed you that night, but that's it. Nothing else. I'm not weak, I don't need help, and if you really plan on being my friend, you'd better accept that!"

There were tears brimming Jade's eyes now. _Great, Vega. Now you've made her cry. Fantastic job at not hurting the girl. _Tori realized her throat was starting to feel tight, too, as she began to speak.

"I'm sorry. I really thought I was doing a good thing, and I'm sorry."

"And Sikowitz? How did you even come to that conclusion?" Jade went on with her speech, apparently not noticing that Tori had even said anything. "Just because he's all sorts of crazy, you assume he's a rapist?"

Long, embarrassed, heavy silence followed, which only seemed to anger the girl more.

"Answer me, Vega!"

"He just… He was the last person I saw you with that night." Tori whispered, trying to keep her voice as even as she could. "And after that, you'd act weird around him. He'd look at you and you'd flinch. It seemed logical. I'm sorry."

A sigh escaped Jade's lips, followed by a bite to the bottom one.

"He's been mentoring me since I got into this school. I don't really have a dad I can count on, and he's… Kind of an important male figure in my life. That's why I was acting weird. I didn't want him to find out and have yet another reason to worry about me."

More silence. Tori's head was dizzy, frustration mixing with guilt in her chest now that she couldn't stop some tears from slipping down her cheeks.

"Just go. Please."

And just like that Friday night, this request – made in a tearful, unstable voice – was one that Tori couldn't even consider refusing.

All she could do was whisper another apology, leave the janitor's closet, run to the bathroom… And cry for a good fifteen minutes straight.

* * *

When Tori walked out of the bathroom and into Sikowitz's classroom, in which the teacher was alone doodling on the board, it took her a long moment to gather up the courage to make her presence known.

"Ah, Tori Vega. Sit down." He gestured towards one of the chairs, and the girl took a seat, nodding nervously. "I suppose you're here to talk about the whole issue with Jade?"

"Yes. Listen, Sikowitz, I- I can't even begin to explain how sorry I am. It was wrong of Beck and me to accuse you without any proof at all, and just… We got so caught up on trying to look after Jade, we lost perspective. I'm so sorry."

The teacher's face was serious, his eyes not showing any sign of anger as he watched Tori carefully. He only spoke after she was done.

"I've been thinking about this, Tori." He said very seriously. Being serious was so unlike Sikowitz, Tori felt she was in some sort of alternate universe. "I can understand why you thought I'd done it. I'm an adult, I have her trust, and I called her back into my house after everyone else had left. And you did have your friend's best interest in mind. It was very brave of you and Beck to stand up to an authority for your friend's protection."

Tori had been expecting a scolding, or a lecture, or even cold silence, but definitely not this.

"Really?" She gasped.

"Yes, really. However, it was also extremely irresponsible to make that accusation in public. If any of the other students had heard you, I could have lost my job. I could go to jail. Do you understand how serious this is, Tori?"

She just nodded, biting her lip. These exact thoughts had been swirling in her mind for what felt like an eternity.

"I'm not angry. But I need you to understand that no matter how… Quirky I may seem, I would never, _ever _hurt anyone like that. Especially not Jade. She's very special to me."

"Well, you're pretty special to her, too." The latina managed an awkward little smile. "I'm glad it wasn't you, Sikowitz. You're the best teacher in this school."

The man came a little closer, smiling much wider than Tori – it was the smile she knew very well, the one that was always on her eccentric teacher's face. And just as she stood up to face him, he pulled her into a tight hug, which she gladly returned.

"I know how caught up you are in all of this, too. Don't think I haven't noticed how you and Beck never leave her alone, even if she wants to be." He chuckled. "You've got an ally, alright?"

Tori nodded eagerly, her throat feeling tight yet again. If she said one more word, she was afraid she'd have another meltdown, so it was better to just stay quiet as she let go of the teacher, smiled softly at him, and made her way to the door.

Well, almost entirely quiet.

"Thank you, Sikowitz. And again, I'm really sorry."

"Water under the bridge, young lady." He smiled at her, and it seemed as genuine as ever. "And Tori?"

"Yeah?"

"Pay a little more attention to how you feel about all of this. The answer might surprise you."

Before she could inquire any further, the teacher already had his back to the door and had resumed his doodling.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Well, old Sikowitz knows a lot more than he lets on, does he not? ;) Thanks for the reviews, follows, and favorites! And a couple of things._

_1) At least one of you reviewers was right about who did it to Jade. I won't tell you who!_

_2) This chapter was painful to write, so reviews would be appreciated and if you do review, I'll be sending positive thoughts in your direction._

_3) Big thanks to my friend and roleplay partner, Tanya, whose advice was the only reason I managed to even begin writing this chapter. She is also the only person who knows almost as much about this story as I do. So yay Tanya!_

_4) Thumbs up for the longest chapter so far!_

_5) MAN, I use a lot of exclamations!_


	9. Out

If there's one thing entertaining enough to momentarily pull Tori out of the major funk she was in, it was Andre trying to calm his grandmother down on the phone. The scene was a cross between funny and frustrating, with the boy pacing back and forth.

"Grandma, he did not become a girl!" The boy repeated for the umpteenth time, rolling his eyes, while Cat, Beck, Tori and Robbie watched him. It was almost entertaining enough to distract Tori from the fact that someone was missing from that lunch table, and it was mostly her fault.

"Grandma- no, Craig didn't grow lady parts. No, Grandma. Grandma! He has a boyfriend. That's it! No…" He stopped pacing to take a big, unceremonious swig of Tori's soda, then resumed his incessant moving. "It's okay if you don't like it, Grandma. Just don't be mean to him. Yeah. Uh-huh. Sure. Yeah, I'll see you later." And as he hung up the phone, he sat at the table with a low growl. "You crazy, crazy woman…"

"What's the matter, Andre?" Cat inquired curiously, her hand on the boy's arm. "Who's turning into a girl?"

"Nobody's turning into a girl. My cousin Craig just came out of the closet, and the whole family's goin' all crazy over it. Grandma thinks his peepee is gon' shrink until he actually becomes a lady." He bit angrily into his sandwich.

"Well, she's a grandmother. It's kinda hard for her to, you know, wrap her old-fashioned mind around it." Robbie shrugged. "I bet she never once asked herself that question."

Beck stopped mid-bite and arched an eyebrow at him.

"What question?"

"You know. 'Am I gay, am I not gay?'"

"Oh, and you have?"

"Like you haven't."

"Nope. I've never thought of being with a dude. Like, ever." Beck shrugged, his eyes on Robbie, whose cheeks were increasingly red as the conversation progressed. "Have you?"

"Look, girls- back me up here. Girls experiment all the time, don't they? I mean, haven't you? Cat?"

The short girl cocked her head thoughtfully.

"I've kissed a few girls. Don't think I'm a lesbian, though. Does it mean I'm a lesbian if I fantasize about Katharine McPhee from time to time?"

"Katharine McPhee is universally sexy." Robbie argued. "I've never been with a dude, but I've questioned it. And the idea seemed gross to me, so I realized I really am into girls only. How about you, Tori?"

"Huh?"

Tori was caught by surprise. She had to admit, she'd thought about it with a couple of singers and actresses. Nothing that couldn't be mistaken for just jealousy for their bodies… Right? She had no idea. The fantasies had been increasing in frequency lately, too.

"Tori. You ever been with a girl?"

"No, Andre, I haven't." She felt her cheeks growing hotter, her eyes fixed on the table. "Not that I haven't been… _Curious _on more than one occasion, but I've never really gone for it. And I've never had feelings for a girl… I don't think?"

"You know, when I first saw you, that day when I was rehearsing the song with Trina for the big showcase… I thought you might be."

"Why, do I have that look?" She wasn't sure whether to be offended, to take it as a compliment, or what to think. "Is there a neon sign on my forehead saying 'likes women'? 'Cause I don't even know if I do."

"Well, I don't know. There was just a thing." The boy shrugged. "You don't have to decide just yet, though. We're all kinda way too young."

And then the conversation began to derail, just like Tori's attention, which went back to the visibly empty seat next to Beck. The boy himself was visibly bothered by that absence, but Beck was as stoic as Tori had ever seen him, and she couldn't help but envy his self-control a little bit. Just the guilt from looking at the empty seat made her heart sink.

Since the deal with Sikowitz the day before, Jade was nowhere to be seen outside of class. She went to class and behaved as usual, but didn't look Tori or Beck in the eye, and was right out of there just as soon as the bell rang. Right now, as they had their lunch, the girl had disappeared.

Tori didn't like to be cheesy, but she felt like a part of her had disappeared, too. But this was normal. It was just guilt and concern for someone she considered a friend. Nothing more. Just a friend. A very pretty friend.

_Stop it, Tori. The conversation about Andre's cousin just got into your head. You're not gay. I mean, if you were, it'd be… Weird. But no. I guess. That sexy dream with Naya Rivera doesn't count. Maybe experimenting wouldn't be such a bad thing. Why am I so caught up in this, anyway?_

_ I did get upset when I saw her with Cat. And with Beck._

_ Fuck._

All she knew was that she needed to figure this out one way or another, and there was only one person she could go to who could actually give her some perspective.

* * *

**_ToriVega: _**_Cat, I need your advice. But this is a secret. Deal?_

_**HappyCat: **__Yeah!_

**_ToriVega: _**_So. Remember how you said you've been with girls before?_

_**HappyCat: **__Sure…_

**_ToriVega: _**_How is it? Is it different from being with a boy?_

_**HappyCat: **__Why do you wanna know, Tori?_

**_ToriVega: _**_I may feel a thing. I have no idea._

_**HappyCat: **__For who?_

**_ToriVega: _**_I'd rather not say it yet._

_**HappyCat: **__It's Jade, isn't it? I can totally see you with her._

**_ToriVega: _**_I don't wanna say who it is. Just… I don't know. What's it like?_

_**HappyCat: **__It's different. I guess. A little softer. Not too much, though. I like it. Maybe you should try it too!_

**_ToriVega: _**_Yeah, maybe… It's complicated._

_**HappyCat: **__It's no different from finding out whether or not you like a boy. It's about the person you like, not their privates. Do you think you like her? What does she have that makes you think that way?_

**_ToriVega: _**_She's beautiful. And smart. And she can be a pain in the ass, but I've seen a different side to her, and… I don't know. I get jealous._

_**HappyCat: **__Jealous?_

**_ToriVega:_**_Yeah. Like when I see her with a boy, or even a girl friend, I kind of… I guess I wish it were me, on some level._

_**HappyCat: **__Sounds like a crush._

**_ToriVega: _**_Yeah…_

_**HappyCat: **__Only you can know for sure, Tor. And I know it's Jade!_

**_ToriVega: _**_There's no use saying no, is there?_

_**HappyCat: **__Nope._

**_ToriVega: _**_So don't tell anyone. I'm already feeling like shit because of the whole thing that happened yesterday. She's still not talking to me._

_**HappyCat: **__I've known her forever. She's stubborn. It takes her some time to think about stuff. And yay! Tori and Jade! Jori!_

**_ToriVega: _**_Cat. She's dating Beck._

_**HappyCat: **__But you guys would be so cute together!_

**_ToriVega: _**_I'm not even sure if I like her!_

_**HappyCat: **__I am! _

**_ToriVega is typing…_**

**_HappyCat: _**_Tori, I have to go… Good luck!_

**_ToriVega: _**_Thanks, Cat…_

Tori went to bed that night with the certainty that Cat understood a lot more than she let on.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I'm sorry about this chapter. It is, admittedly and shamefully, a big fat filler. Next one will be so much better, I promise! Thank you for all the support and reviews and nice things!_


	10. It's all okay

**_ToriVega: _**_Hey. I was wondering… Has Jade spoken to you yet?_

**_ GotBeck: _**_Kind of. I explained to her that I was just trying to look out for her, and she sort of got it. We're still shaky, but that'll just take a little time._

**_ ToriVega: _**_No such luck with me, haha. I kind of miss her._

**_ GotBeck: _**_Tell her that._

**_ ToriVega: _**_She'll laugh in my face._

**_ GotBeck: _**_I highly doubt it._

**_ ToriVega: _**_I don't know. To be honest, it bothers me._

**_ GotBeck: _**_That she'll supposedly laugh at you?_

**_ ToriVega: _**_No, how much I miss that creepy weirdo._

**_ GotBeck: _**_I think that half the time, too. But hey, I get the added bonus that she's an amazing kisser, so that's one more thing I miss when she's mad at me. You probably don't… I hope? LOL._

**_ ToriVega: _**_Haha, no, not at all. Anyway, the science fair is on Friday. Do you know if Jade still wants Bugs?_

**_ GotBeck: _**_Definitely._

_**ToriVega: **__Then I'll talk to her when she comes pick him up._

* * *

**(THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE COULD BE VERY TRIGGERING. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY VERY EXPLICIT MENTIONS OF RAPE, VICTIM BLAMING, AND SLUT SHAMING, SCROLL DOWN UNTIL THE PART WHERE IT SAYS 'SAFE POINT'.)**

Jade was just getting home from the pet store, satisfied with the loot in the trunk of her car – bowls, bedding, bunny toys and a large cage, all hand-picked for little Bugs. It was a very warm afternoon; she'd excused herself with the teachers and her project partner and gotten out of staying in the science fair until the end. To them she said it was because she was sick. In reality, she couldn't handle being around _him _for so long.

It was already bad enough to see him every day, wandering the halls, shooting her disgusting little winks and smiles. The presence of him in her life was already nearly enough to make her sick, let alone staying in the same crowded, noisy room for hours. It was much better to just bail on the science fair and go buy the things for Bugs – whom her parents had accepted as long as he only stayed in her bedroom.

As soon as Jade hopped out of her car, the umbrella safely in her hand, she did her usual routine of checking all of the surroundings. The bushes around the driveway, the back of the house, everything. _You can never be too careful_, she told herself for the millionth time. Only after her thorough inspection was over did Jade open the trunk, drop the umbrella, and quickly gather the bags from Petsmart, only to drop them onto the floor as she was taken from behind by a pair of strong arms, making her freeze in panic.

"I don't even have to tell you to shut up, do I, Jade?" It was him. His sickly voice in her ear. Her heart began to race wildly, limbs completely uncooperative with shock, even as he pressed her to the wall with surprising force.

"Look at that. The icy princess is stunned by little old me. My, how things have changed..." He laughed, eyes locked on her wide pair, savoring the fear in them.

_Come on, West. Say something. Do something! Stop shaking! Open your mouth and scream! Your father's home! Why can't I move? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!_

Her top was already torn down the middle, her wrists helplessly pinned to the wall and legs unable to move by the time she finally managed to say something. Through shaky lips, Jade was able to whisper:

"M-my father's home…"

"You're damn right, I am!" She heard the powerful roar of her dad's voice, music to her ears right now. Immediately, the boy let go and sprinted off to the street, leaving a wobbly mess of a girl still pressed to the wall in shock.

"What did I say about making out with boys in here, Jade? And he's not even your boyfriend? Do you have any shame left? Look at your blouse! Come inside. Now!" He snarled. As much as Jade wanted to move, she couldn't. Her legs wouldn't cooperate. Even her mouth was apparently stuck, but after a moment, she managed to let out a murmur.

"He wasn't- I wasn't- Dad! He… He…" She couldn't say the word. Her father only came closer, glaring at her.

"He what?"

"HE RAPED ME!" The girl screamed, at the same time as the strength came back to her legs, making her run back into the house. Her father slammed the door shut behind them both in just a few seconds.

"What do you mean, he raped you? That adorable boy who lives down the street?" At his daughter's fierce nod, he crossed his arms, arching a brow at her. "Well, of course he did. Look at the clothes you wear. Look at your makeup! Poor boy couldn't keep it in his pants."

Jade couldn't believe her ears. The whole scene was just so surreal, there was no way she could even comprehend it.

The only thing she could think of doing was storm out of the house, grab her car keys, slam the trunk shut and drive as fast as she could without causing any accidents.

* * *

**(SAFE POINT! **Bottom line: Jade was attacked by her rapist again, but this time her father interrupted them before he went all the way with her. Jade's dad then basically said it was all her fault.**)**

By the end of the science fair, Tori couldn't hide the frown on her face. The teachers had loved her and Andre's project, sure. She was happy about it. Babbity had been returned to Lane's nephew, who was very happy about it. But Tori still felt terrible, because, as she threw her backpack over her shoulder and hopped out of Andre's car, she was still carrying Bugs with her. Jade hadn't even come to see the bunny – or Tori, for that matter.

When she saw the girl huddled on her driveway, however, Tori was torn between smiling and feeling her heart drop. Jade's shirt was, again, torn, and this time she was actually sobbing, with her face hidden in her hands.

Setting the cage and her backpack on the floor with a loud thud, the latina hurried over to where Jade was, not even thinking before sitting by the girl's side and wrapping her arms protectively around her.

"I don't know what happened, but it'll be okay." Was all she could say as Jade hugged her back, face hidden in Tori's shoulder. Unable to conjure up any words of her own, but needing to offer some comfort other than the warmth and safety of an embrace, the latina began to sing softly.

_"There is no upper hand, I'm giving you mine_

_ It doesn't have to end, I'm wasting your time_

_ There's things that I could say, but here in my way_

_ I wanna let you know that it's all okay…"_

It was still a long time before the tears subsided and Jade was calm enough to talk, to walk into her friend's – yes, **friend's **– house, sit with her on the couch, and tell her what had happened. There were still more tears that day, and then silence, the kind of comfortable, easy silence that only companions can share. Later that day, there were laughs. There was a pizza shared with the Vega family, and thirty-four calls from Mr. West, the last of which Trina picked up to tell him his daughter was there, safe and sound, and wasn't leaving too soon.

Jade was surprisingly alright with it.

* * *

**_A/N_**_: I didn't post anything yesterday, so I'll compensate with a long feel-y chapter! Yay. Here you have it. Thanks for the reviews and the love! If any of you have a Tumblr account and would like to message me on timetofacethechange, or my Jori rp blog, askvictoriavega, I'll be extra happy. And no, the rp blog has absolutely NOTHING to do with this fanfic. Nothing. At all. Promise. No spoilers here or there._


	11. He stank

_**A/N: **__Thank you all for the reviews! In my eagerness to publish the last chapter, I admit I rushed the ending a little (or a lot). But this chapter fixes it, or at least I hope so... Right?_

* * *

Only after dinner did Tori and Jade really sit down to chat. Before, the pale girl had been too shocked to even say much about what had happened to her; most of the time they'd spent talking about it had actually consisted of Jade crying and Tori holding her hand. Then Trina had appeared, along with the girls' parents, and by that time it was better to just try to get distracted with the TV instead of pressing the subject any further.

But after the pizza had been eaten and the three older Vegas were watching the news together in the living room, Jade grabbed Tori's wrist and pulled her upstairs to the girl's bedroom so that they could talk calmly.

Well… As calmly as they could.

"We stopped at the part where the dude tore my shirt." Jade said emotionlessly, sitting cross-legged on Tori's bed with the most neutral expression she could manage. "Did I mention he stank? Well, he did."

The latina sighed.

"Jade, we don't have to do this right now. If it upsets you too much, I don't need to know what happened."

"We opened a goddamn gate here, Vega. I have to let this out. If I put it in words, it's kind of… Easier to deal with. Less scary."

Tori scooched closer and rested her hand on her friend's shoulder, a silent act of support.

"So he stank."

"And then I finally stop being a chicken and say something. I said to him-"

"You're not a chicken! You were scared!" Tori's protest was quickly silenced with a glare from the blue eyes, rendering her speechless.

"I'm telling the story. I said my dad was home. And then all of a sudden, my dad shows up and makes the disgusting little coward run for his life."

"That's a good thing, right?"

Jade chuckled coldly at her friend's innocence, pulling the tan hand from her shoulder and in between both of hers. Her tone was icy, but it was clear she needed the extra comfort to keep herself together.

"He yelled at me. Said it was my fault." Tears were brimming the blue orbs, but not falling just yet. "He said it was because of the way I dress and my makeup. _Poor boy couldn't not do it."_

Tori couldn't believe it. Really? Your daughter is raped, meets her assailant for the second time, and you blame the attack on her? That's not just shitty parenting, it's being a shitty person. And you could tell the words have gotten into Jade's brain. As she repeated what her father had said, just the tone she'd used had made it clear that, on some level, she actually believed it.

Tori didn't think she'd ever been this angry. Jade's father's face was a vague memory in her mind, from that one time she'd seen him in a play, but she was sure if they ever met again, there'd be trouble. Big trouble.

Whether it was her not-yet-confirmed crush on Jade or the growing rage in her chest for the entire situation the pale girl was in, all that Tori knew was that she found herself having this strangely overwhelming desire to make sure Jade wouldn't be going back home a second before she absolutely had to. Besides, staying with a man who'd blame his daughter for her own assault wasn't really home, now was it?

"Speechless, Vega?"

"I hate him." She growled back. "I hate him! How can he do this- say these things- his own daughter!"

"Calm down. It's not worth getting angry at. I'm used to this."

"Well, you shouldn't be!"

Before she could even consider hesitating, Tori was already pulling Jade into a tight hug, which the other girl returned just as quickly. It seemed like the whole 'Jade hates people touching her' thing only applied to strangers, or people she didn't particularly care for. Or maybe she just needed the friendly contact right now.

"You shouldn't be used to this. It's not fair."

"That's life, I guess."

They pulled away after a short moment. Jade quickly wiped off the tears that had dared to streak her face with an impatient hand and just looked into Tori's eyes thoughtfully, not saying a word.

"Do you think… Do you think you're ready to tell the police? We could talk to my dad. The son of a bitch who did this to you has to pay for it."

Jade shrugged. It wasn't like she hadn't considered it. And the fact that the policeman in question wasn't a total stranger would definitely help.

"You have to take a test. Make sure he didn't give you anything."

"Like a kid?"

"Or a disease."

The groan of frustration that erupted from Jade's lips was unmistakable.

"I wish I'd just stayed at Sikowitz's and left in the morning. He insisted, you know? Said he had a bad feeling about me being alone that night." Her voice trembled, but this time she shook her head at Tori's outstretched hand. "And there I was, wandering around in those stupid tiny shorts and showing off my bellybutton. That big old creep probably thought I was begging for dick."

The anger in Tori's heart grew bigger, hotter, almost making her nauseous.

"Jade. Look at me and listen." She growled fiercely, pulling the girl's face closer to hers, eyes locked on each other's. "I don't care what you were wearing or how much or how little. This wasn't your fault. No matter how you look at it. Am I being clear, West?"

There was a long, tense moment of silence. A million different emotions passed by Jade's beautiful blue eyes, all in no more than a minute…

"Tell your dad to come up here. But I want you to stay, too."

Tori could only answer her with a proud smile.

* * *

After a few minutes, Officer David Vega was in his daughter's bedroom, a notepad in his hand and a pen in the other, carefully eyeing both the girl and her friend. The girls sat together on the bed, Jade's fingers firmly laced with Tori's, her eyes slightly wider than usual.

"Alright, girls. I understand Jade has something to report?"

Both were quiet for a moment, but then Jade took a deep breath and spoke up through nervously bitten lips.

"I was raped, Mr. Vega. About a month ago."

The man shook his head, sighing heavily as he scribbled something on his notepad.

"I'm very sorry, Jade. When exactly was it?"

"The day we went to that sleepover at Sikowitz's house."

More scribbles. Tori eyed her friend carefully, but the girl was almost in a trance, her gaze fixed on the rapid movement of the pen on the paper.

"Did you know the assailant?"

"Y-yes, sir." She murmured. "He's a classmate and neighbor."

"Can you tell me his name?"

Jade took a big, deep breath, her grip on Tori's hand tightening to the point where it was almost painful. Her eyes squeezed shut, her front teeth sank into her bottom lip for a moment, and then she opened her eyes slowly. The name was barely audible, but Tori heard it, and David heard it, and both gasped in shock.

"Sinjin Van Cleef."


	12. Someone I liked

_**A/N: **__A few warnings._

_a) __**THIS CHAPTER IS TRIGGERING AS FUCK. The whole chapter. You've been warned.**_

_b) The author (aka me) is very, very, very sick. When I'm sick, my continuity radar kind of sucks. So if this chapter does too, that's why. Sorry!_

* * *

"So, _Sinjin._ Spits-up-food-and-glues-it-to-his-locker SINJIN did this?"

Jade just nodded, her eyes fixed on the ground as her cheeks turned pink.

"Was he alone, Jade?" David asked carefully as he looked up from his notepad. "Did he have someone to help him?"

She nodded again.

"His friend Burf held me down, but didn't otherwise touch me."

Tori felt her heart break once again. Jade's tone was honestly helpless, and her grip on the latina's hand grew tighter with each answer she had to give. _Sinjin and Burf are in for the ball-kicking of their lives on Monday._

"Walk me through what happened, Jade. Start when you left your teacher's house. Were you driving?"

And then Jade shot up from the bed and started fumbling around Tori's dresser, leaving David with a quizzical look on his face, and making his daughter chuckle. Of course Jade wouldn't want to be comforted by a hug or anything of the sort. She needed to cut things up.

"Scissors in the first drawer, Jade. Here." Tori reached into her closet and found a shoebox. Quickly pulling the shoes out of it, she came back to bed at the same time as Jade found the pair of scissors she'd been looking for.

"These have a sparkly handle, Vega. Do they cut, or do they just shoot glitter all over the place?"

"Just take your emotions out on this."

With the box and scissors in hand, she looked back at David and shrugged shyly, silently excusing herself for the weird behavior.

"So, yeah, I was driving. My boyfriend had given me a ride, but he had to go to the hospital because he burned his hand, so he gave me the car keys and took a cab there." Jade sighed softly. "And then I drove home around… Two in the morning? Something like that."

"Did you have your scissors with you? You always do." Tori intervened.

"I did. Anyway, I parked in the driveway just like I usually do. Sinjin and Burf were in Sinjin's porch, as usual, but they were drinking. I remember seeing at least one empty bottle of Smirnoff when I drove past his house, and I remember because it shocked the fuck out of me."

The poor shoebox had already been reduced to half its original size.

"Alright. What happened next?" David asked without looking up from the notepad, scribbling quickly.

"I got off the car. Looked for my keys in my purse and realized I didn't have them. I was about to ring the doorbell when…"

Tori's arm wrapped around the girl's shoulder decisively.

"… When they basically came out of nowhere. Burf pulled my wrists and held them behind my back, and before I could scream, Sinjin's hand was covering my mouth. Of course I bit the pasty little fucker's hand, but then he yanked out the cloth I had in my pocket for the stupid cowgirl costume and gagged me with it."

With the box cut down to small bits of cardboard, Jade just leaned into her friend's embrace, trying not to let the tears fall again. She was sick of crying.

"Sinjin found my scissors and used them to cut my shorts off." Jade whispered in a shaky voice. "And pulled my shirt open, so the buttons fell out. And fuck. I can't do this."

Tori held her a bit closer, her free hand reaching for the pale one.

"Yes, you can. Come on…" She cooed, not really sure of what she was doing. "You're safe here. My dad is asking about what happened so he can put that stupid piece of shit in jail."

"What did they do with the scissors and your shorts, Jade? Do you remember?"

"After… You know… I remember Sinjin ran away and took my shorts with him. I don't know about the scissors, though."

"Carry on."

"Can't." She admitted in no more than a low whisper.

"What if my dad leaves the room and you only tell me? Would that be okay? I can tell him afterwards so you don't have to deal with it."

After a moment of considering the offer, Jade nodded. Tori thought she saw a little glimmer of pride in her father's eyes when he winked at her and walked off to the living room, leaving the girls alone on the youngest Vega's bed.

"Do you know if he wore a condom?" She asked softly, not letting go of Jade's shoulders or her hand. "And where did he…? I'm only asking because of the whole disease/pregnancy deal."

"The only place he put it in was where I could definitely get pregnant. And it sure as fuck didn't feel like he wore a condom, 'cause when he… I felt it." Jade hid her face in Tori's neck. "They bent me over my car and wouldn't let me go until Sinjin was done."

Tori could feel the tears on her skin, but didn't say a word, just held her friend tight.

"And then they just… Ran off. And I couldn't stay home and face my father after that. I knew I needed to go somewhere… To someone…"

"Yes?"

"Someone I trusted. Someone I... Liked."

And they just stayed there, locked in a silent embrace, long past the point where the tears had ceased and Jade's breathing had become steady. In fact, it was quite a while before Tori realized that Jade had actually fallen asleep on her.

Smiling softly to herself, all she did was lay back carefully, so that her head was resting comfortably on the pillow, and Jade's on her chest. It didn't really matter that they were both still dressed, or that there were still so many issues to be discussed with the police and Jade herself.

All that mattered to Tori at that moment was that she was actually holding Jade to sleep, and if that wasn't love, it certainly felt a lot like it.


	13. You'll wish

_**A/N: **__I would tell you all how very, very sorry I am for the lack of updates, but I was the one who was sick and babysitting the devil in eleven-year-old girl form. So I'm sorry, but not too sorry. Anyway, here it is! I hope you enjoy it. Please keep reviewing; every review I get gives me the warm fuzzies in the chest. And thank you all so much for your patience!_

* * *

The following few days were some of the busiest that Jade had ever been through.

Ever since she'd reported her rape to the police, there'd been blood tests, a slightly traumatic gynecologist's appointment, statements, signatures, evidence she didn't think would even matter. The only things she'd kept from the night of her assault were the torn red shirt and a pair of panties, which she had wrapped in a paper bag for the sole purpose of taking it home to wash it, but ended up hiding it in her closet and doing her best to forget it even existed. Good thinking on her part, according to David Vega. Denial and a happy coincidence, according to Jade herself.

Throughout all of it, she'd even been assigned a counselor – Tanya, a tall, fairly professional-looking woman with short black hair and glasses. As the police had told her, Tanya would help her out and be with her in court, if the case actually went that far. On one hand, Jade hoped it would. She wanted to see Sinjin and Burf locked behind bars as much as she wanted this all to be over with. On the other hand, she was apprehensive. Her only knowledge of lawsuits and courtrooms came from _Law and Order_ reruns, so she had no idea what to expect.

Her father's behavior was apathetic at best. He'd signed the necessary forms, paid for the exams she took, and that was the full extent of his support. It was evident he still thought the rape was his daughter's fault, and she shouldn't be inconveniencing him with it any more than she already had.

This would have made Jade very upset if she hadn't already been expecting it. Ever since she'd been a child, her father was that way – paying for everything and thinking his parenting duties stopped at that. Her mother was always away on business trips or something of the sort, and even when she was home, the woman was almost always drunk out of her mind. Not exactly the best parenting she could have had.

Despite the emotional exhaustion from having to relive her attack repeatedly, she tried hard to keep it all to herself at school, and it was mostly a success. With Beck, it was a bit harder. The problem with the boy was that he knew her all too well, even the way her mouth crooked on the side when she was angry. Beck just knew too much.

Maybe too much for her to be comfortable with. She felt comfortable with him in general, most of the time, yes. But sometimes, the looks he shot her just made her feel invaded, naked under his stare. Not in the good way. Lately, this had begun to bother her more and more.

Jade liked to tell herself that was why she'd been hanging out with Tori more than her own boyfriend. Spending time with the girl was actually very relaxing, contrary to what she'd believed at first, and Tori seemed to understand her more than pretty much anybody else. Even so, Jade couldn't deny that there was something strange about that.

She'd met Cat when they were six years old. Jade's aunt and Cat's grandmother were in the same Pilates class, and the girls ended up meeting at the gym, where they'd both watch curiously as their aunt and grandma stretched and bent. Even when they were both children and hadn't gone through half of what they'd end up enduring for the next ten years, it took the little brunette half a year to even begin to trust her. Then how come Tori, who she'd known for less than a year and hated for most of that time, had already not only gained her full confidence, but also quite a bit of her heart?

* * *

When Tori arrived at Hollywood Arts that morning, the first thing she did was open her locker to grab her books. The second thing she did was look around and notice that someone – precisely, someone with shaggy blond hair and horrible taste in clothing – was crouching by his own locker, close to hers.

And the third thing Tori did that morning was yank the boy up by his hair, not letting go even as he stood up and met her gaze.

"Tori? W-what's the matter?" He stammered nervously. Just seeing his slimy face made her anger start to boil inside her, and she shoved him against the lockers, never breaking eye contact.

"You don't talk. You listen." She hissed dangerously. "I know what you did to Jade, you filthy, disgusting excuse of a human being. Now, what I really _want _to do is rip your pathetic little nuts off with my own bare hands, but I won't be spending a day in prison because of someone like you. So here's what's gonna happen."

Tori watched as Sinjin's eyes went wide, smirking maliciously at him.

"From now on, you are going to stay the fuck away from Jade. If you have classes together, sit on the opposite end of the classroom. If she's walking down the hall, you turn around. You don't say a single word to her unless she requests it explicitly. And I swear…"

She lodged her knee between Sinjin's legs, not moving, just staying there as a warning for now.

"… If you ever dare to touch her in _any _way, _anywhere_, with _any_ part of your pasty, underdeveloped body, I will find you. And by the time I'm finished with you, you'll _wish_ I'd ripped off your balls."

And then she sank her knee into the boy's balls, and walked away as if nothing had happened, leaving him doubled over in pain.

Nearly glued to her own locker in shock, Cat – who had watched the entire scene, wide-eyed with confusion and disbelief – took a moment to breathe before sprinting away to tell Beck, Robbie and Andre what she had just seen.


	14. In the predictable future

"I missed going out with you. And sneaking into your room when your dad is out of town and you're home alone." Beck chuckled as he and Jade arrived at the girl's house, sitting on her bed with a large distance and a rabbit between them, and the door wide open. It was the only way they got to be together in her bedroom anymore, but he wouldn't complain at all.

"I missed it too. You're a lot of fun to hang out with." Jade admitted as she stroked the bunny's fur, smiling softly. "We hadn't done this in forever."

The boy moved in a little closer, reaching for his girlfriend's hand and giving her a little smile when she took it. Her response was to just stare at the floor, a thoughtful look in her beautiful blue eyes.

It felt nice, holding his hand. Beck's skin was warm and soft, the contact completely unthreatening, and there were few people she could laugh as much with. But something was off; it'd been off for a while. Sure, it felt good to be with him as a companion. Anything else was comfortably hidden under a layer of _too early to think about this_.

"Dime for your thoughts, pretty girl."

The comment made her blush and shrug it off, going back to caressing the sleeping bunny. It was flattering, but no butterflies, no tingly feeling in her gut when he touched her or called her a cute name. It was actually beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, like he wasn't allowed to say those things anymore.

"I'm just… Thinking about the song I have to write for next week." She lied through her teeth. The words to the song were all written, the melody stuck in her head from countless times singing it in the shower and trying to get the prfect rhythm. It was just a lot easier and safer than voicing her feelings to him, given that Jade herself didn't know what they were exactly.

"And hey, how… How'd the tests go?" He asked worriedly, eyeing her, while her gaze was still on Bugs.

"All clean. No stinky goo or baby head expected to come out of my privates anytime in the predictable future."

"That's great!"

A customary, friendly, innocent hug.

Beck pulled away just a little bit, enough to look deep in her eyes and make sure she wouldn't refuse before he pressed their lips together in a soft kiss.

And that's when she was sure.

"Beck. Stop. This isn't right."

The boy pulled away promptly, sighing.

"Sorry."

"Not your fault. I mean, it's not because of- of my thing." Jade's heart started to race, her teeth digging into her bottom lip. It sure wasn't right to string her boyfriend along if she didn't feel it anymore. But he'd been so nice, so amazingly supportive throughout the whole thing – even went with her to some of the appointments, never ceasing to offer a hand or a shoulder – how would it affect him?

"Then why is it?"

She took in a nervous breath and turned to look deep into his eyes, sighing. This wasn't supposed to be so hard. She always knew what to say! Of course, that was when she didn't care about hurting the other person. Right now, it was a very firmly glued band-aid that needed to be ripped off.

"Look, Beck. You're a wonderful boyfriend, and I love being with you. I do. You're sweet and funny and you've been so supportive, and… And I'm really sorry I have to do this, but it wouldn't be right not to."

It took him a moment to get it.

"You're… Breaking up with me?"

"I kind of have to. It's not fair to keep stringing you along if I don't have that kind of feeling for you anymore."

Silence. Jade bit her lip harshly, staring resolutely into his eyes.

"Well… Do you regret it? Being with me?"

"None of it." She assured him immediately. "I loved being your girlfriend, and I don't regret a day we spent together. Not even losing my virginity to you. I'm glad it was with someone I loved, and who actually loved me back."

Beck smiled at that. His hand reached up to tuck Jade's hair behind her ear, his face looking thoughtful.

"Is there someone else?"

"Not that I've done anything at all with. But I think I'm starting to have feelings for her. Big feelings."

"Her? As in… A girl?"

"Yep."

More silence. Both the boy and the girl stared at the little rabbit, smiling awkward at him to avoid having to look at each other.

"Are we… Okay? I mean, I definitely don't wanna lose a friend. Please tell me we'll still be able to hang out."

Beck just smiled softly and gave Jade's hand a little squeeze, then slid out of her bed. He only spoke again when he stopped by her doorway, shooting her a slightly bigger smile.

"In the predictable future, definitely."

* * *

Tori's phone buzzed on her lap and she pressed the pause button on the remote, freezing the scene on one of John Travolta's silly dance moves in black leather. The text was from Jade, and it made her smile just to see the name on the screen.

_Hey, have you seen my man wearing a bowtie?_

Enclosed was a picture of Bugs, a presumably handmade (but still fancy as hell) black bowtie around his furry neck. Tori laughed softly to herself and texted back quickly.

_That's one fancy-ass bunny, Jade. Didn't your other man get jealous?_

The response came just as fast.

_What man? Bugs is the only man in my life now. And before you ask, yeah, I'm the one who dumped him. He was totally cool about it, too. Just like a true gentleman. :)_

Tori only answered with a smiley face, but as she pressed play and John Travolta resumed his dancing, she couldn't help but join in.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Yay, Jori! Yay, they broke up! Yay, I spent the entire afternoon in the hospital getting my arm poked with needles! Anyway. On a semi-related note, some of you have been asking me how Sinjin overpowered Jade with physical strength, and that's an easy one. First, she was taken by surprise. Second, before she had time to react, on the first time, Burf was already holding her wrists behind her back. On the second time, there was the very strong element of surprise, and poor Jade was scared shitless._

_And I *promise* next chapter will feature the gang's reactions to the revelation that it was Sinjin. I just have a lot of ideas and they keep competing for space in my chapters, so I need them to pipe down for a bit in order to write a chapter that actually makes sense. :)_

_Thank you so much for the reviews and the love! You guys are awesome. And you have some of the weirdly awesomest pen names. Yes, "awesomest" is a word._


	15. Revenge

Right after the afternoon class ended, Tori practically ran up to Jade, who was still picking up her things. It was just a simple invitation – less than a dozen words to say – but everything about it, from her outfit to the tone in her voice, had been carefully planned and even rehearsed. She would have felt pathetic if she weren't so giddy.

"Jade! Do you wanna go get some ice cream with me?"

Jade eyed her curiously, throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"We're supposed to rehearse that play with the guys right after class, remember? You were the one who set it up."

_Shoot!_

"Come on, we'll bring them back a little something. It'll just be a few minutes."

And then a sly little grin spread across Jade's face as she nodded curtly and guided her friend to the car. Little did Tori know the girl's heart was beating as rapidly as her own.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Black Box theater, four teenagers and a ventriloquist's doll sat on the floor of the stage, waiting for the remaining two to arrive. It was the first time since they remembered that Cat Valentine wasn't her usual, enthusiastic self.

"Where's Tori and Jade? I wanna work on this and go the heck home, guys. My grandma's makin' me cookies tonight." Andre grinned at the expectation, fiddling impatiently with his backpack.

Cat's voice was sad and thoughtful when she spoke up.

"I don't know, guys, but I'm kind of glad they're not here. I need to tell you all something. Something pretty terrible."

The boys only watched her with matching raised eyebrows. Cat's arms were tight around the little purple giraffe, a clear sign of her discomfort, and when she began to speak, they only grew tighter.

"The other day, I saw Tori yelling at Sinjin and threatening to rip off his boy parts. And she said something else, too, and he didn't deny it." The redhead bit her lower lip, looking straight down. "It was Sinjin who hurt Jade, guys."

* * *

"Who?"

"That's right. Ginger Spice." Jade laughed, her eyes fixed on Tori's. "When I was a little kid, I aspired to be Ginger Spice. And then I moved on to wanting to be Hillary Clinton."

The girls' laughter echoed around the tiny ice cream shop, each of them holding a little plastic bowl of the cold treat and barely remembering to eat at all. It had only been a few minutes since they'd sat down, but Tori could swear she had never seen Jade so open. Most of the time when they were with the group, she'd laugh and make jokes like all of them, but there was always an edge of sarcasm to the girl's voice. Right now, not even a whiff of her usual irony was to be detected in the air.

"Come on, Vega. Your turn. Who did you want to be?"

"Sarah Brightman." Tori admitted with an embarrassed giggle, biting her lip. "I thought she was a fairy, okay? And I also thought I could sing just like her. Big disappointment when I recorded myself the first time."

"I thought you wanted to be like Tanya Tucker or one of those other country stars. You know, because you're _Tori Vega…_" Jade put on her fake Western accent, laughing along with her friend.

"Oh, shut up, Betty Sue…"

* * *

Beck's growl of frustration filled the otherwise dead silent theater.

"I can't believe this. I can't fucking believe this!" The boy hid his face in both his hands, huffing. "It was _Sinjin_. You know how many times I left her alone with him? How many chances he had of- of doing it again?"

"Dude. There's no way you could know. I mean. Wow."

A loud slam startled both boys and the red-headed girl as Rex hit the floor and Robbie stood up, his hands curled into tight fists.

"Of course we should have thought of it, Andre! He- he's crazy! He was always creeping around and- and drooling at girls like a goddamn dog and- fuck! He was stalking her! And not just her – Jade, Tori, even you, Cat! We have to do something."

The much subtler sound of Cat's little giraffe joining Rex on the ground announced that she had stood up too.

"Yes! Do something! Like- like freakin' kill him! He broke my friend!"

"I was right there. Right fucking _there _and didn't notice anything wrong!"

"I'm not like him!"

What followed Robbie's outburst was a moment of very confused silence, to which he sighed deeply.

"You all make fun of me for being all over the girls. I just- it's scary. I'm not like him. I love Jade! And I love you, Cat, and Tori too, and- and I'd never hurt someone like this. Ever!"

Andre stood up and made his way over to the boy, patting him on the back.

"Nobody thinks you would, dude. Relax."

"You sure?"

While Beck just nodded curtly, it was Cat who ran over to Robbie and wrapped her thin arms around his neck in a tight, comforting hug.

"I love you, Robbie. You're sweet and you don't make us uncomfortable." She sighed softly. "But I still say we should teach Sinjin a lesson! Everyone needs to know what he did!"

* * *

When Tori and Jade arrived at the school, each holding a doggy bag with candy for their friends as an apology for being late, they came across Robbie, Cat, Beck and Andre sitting on the main staircase and whispering to each other as if they were plotting an evil plan.

"Guys! Sorry we're late. We got carried away." Tori smiled at them, joining the group curiously. "What are you guys doing? We brought candy!"

The next thing they knew was that Robbie had stood up and was pulling Jade into a hug, which she returned briefly and clumsily before pushing him away with confusion in her face.

"What's the matter there, Robbie?" She chuckled awkwardly. "You like my perfume or something?"

"We know about Sinjin, Jade. And I just wanted to say that- that people compare me to him a lot, but I'd never. Never. Not even close to it. Okay?"

The girl's eyes met the floor, and she hugged her purse to her body, but nodded briefly. Her voice was low when she asked, without a single hint of annoyance:

"How did you find out?"

"Cat heard Tori threatening to rip his balls off if he ever came close to you again." Andre shrugged. "We were planning our revenge. You shouldn't take part in it, though, 'cause you're going to court and he ain't gon' have squat to blame you for. Tori? You with us?"

Tori smiled at them, and when she looked at Jade, the girl had a matching smirk on her lips.

"You guys are amazing. All I ask is that you don't get yourselves in a lot of trouble over this. He's sure as fuck not worth it."

And after much discussion, mostly composed of trying to get away with any sort of physical punishment they could inflict on Sinjin and arguing about how far they could go without ending up in jail, they finally reached a conclusion. It wasn't physically harmful, but it was humiliating, and would surely attract the attention of everybody in the school.

The next morning, whoever walked by the light blue locker would see the word RAPIST spray-painted in bright red letters all over the door.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I don't really like this chapter, but it took a loooong time and we have Jori and revenge and stuff. Next one will be better. And thanks for everyone's concern about me last week. I'm fine now, I just had a bad virus and had to take intravenous medicine (thus the needles in my arm). Anyway, thanks for the love and reviews, and please keep'em coming!_


	16. A very confusing mixture

Lane's office had never been so quiet before.

Jade and her father, Sinjin and both his parents, Lane himself, Tori and David Vega, Robbie, Andre, Cat and Beck were all together in the small room, in the most awkward, crushing silence they had ever been in.

A silence broken – somewhat reluctantly – by Officer Vega.

"Okay, guys. Somebody has to talk here. Let's start with you, Sinjin. Anything to add to your last statement after this?"

The boy shook his head, and was about to open his mouth when his mother spoke up.

"I don't get why you're interrogating _my _boy like he's some sort of criminal, when his locker was the one that got trashed!"

"Because he _is _a criminal." Jade muttered bitterly.

"Officer, it is _clear _that this girl is ashamed of having consented to sex with my son. I don't think we have to argue that the girls in this school don't like him. If word had gotten out that she said yes to him, she'd be ostracized! Isn't that right, Jade?"

Jade's quietness was frightening. Not because of the silence itself, but because of the burning rage in her eyes when she looked at the woman – it looked like she was two seconds away from pouncing on her. Sitting on the arm of the couch right next to Jade, Tori rested a careful hand on her shoulder, but was quickly pushed away.

"I don't react well to touching in these situations, Vega."

"What kind of situations, Jade?" David raised an eyebrow at her, his voice very stern. Jade knew he was sympathetic, and that he was on her side, but the question just irritated her even more.

"The kind of situation when I'm being fucking cornered!"

"My son is the one being cornered here, you little whore!"

"HEY!"

The yell from Mr. West, who had been quiet and apathetic until that very moment, startled everybody in the room. Jade's eyes were as wide as they'd ever been as she watched her father stand up and walk over to Mrs. Van Cleef until he was just a few inches from her.

"You talk to my daughter like that ever again, and I swear to God…"

"Everybody pipe down!" David growled. "Sit down. Both of you."

"Dad…"

"Be quiet."

And there he was, back to his normal self. A soft sigh escaped Jade's lips, and this time she didn't object to Tori's hand when it crept back up onto her shoulder.

Lane sighed from his chair, rubbing moisturizer in his hands like it was going out of style.

"Jade. Did you participate in trashing Sinjin's locker?"

"Not at all. I was having ice cream with Tori after school, and when I came back, it was there."

"I don't see how this is relevant. These kids…" Sinjin's mother pointed vaguely to Cat, Robbie, Beck and Andre. "… Admitted they did it. I don't care if those two girls helped or not. All I know is my son was attacked!"

That did it to Jade. The next thing any of them knew was that she was springing to her feet, a look of pure, boiling hatred in her blue eyes as she approached the Van Cleefs.

"Your son raped me. I had his DNA on my _underwear. _And I bet when the police search your house, they're going to find _my _shorts that he cut off of me! So if you think that spray-painting his locker is anything _close _to attacking him, you need to get your Botox-infested head out of your enormous jiggly ass before I do it for you!"

* * *

"Your dad is really cool, you know." Jade chuckled, sitting on the staircase beside Tori. "Would be awesome to be able to do that. Just get out that walkie-talkie thing, say you need a search warrant, and have three cops in Sinjin's house within minutes. I think I wanna be a police officer too."

"You could be a good cop. You'd be the pretty one who scares the pants out of the criminals." Tori giggled, to which Jade gave her a playful nudge.

Sitting one step below them, Andre poked at the girl's knee.

"When do the DNA test results come out?"

"They were supposed to come out yesterday. I think I'm gonna call Tanya and see if there's anything new."

The five teenagers kept chatting quietly while Jade walked away to make the call. After a moment of explaining to Cat how the DNA test worked, Andre patted Tori's shoulder with a mischievous smirk on his lips.

"Yeah?"

"So, you and Jade have been spendin' a lot of time together, ain't it?"

A giggle escaped Cat's lips, while Robbie and Beck just stared at each other with a quizzical look.

"I'm sorry, am I missing something here?"

"Yeah, Robbie. Tori and Jade are totally gay for each other."

A moment of embarrassed silence followed Beck's sulky remark.

"Cat!"

"Tori, I didn't tell him! Double pinky promise!" The little redhead lifted both her pinkies, pouting slightly. "And did you talk to her? She likes you back?"

"I… Did not. I don't wanna jump into things, okay? But… Beck, is it that obvious? And are you even okay with this?"

The boy sighed as he stood up, his arms crossed.

"She broke up with me because she has feelings for someone else. A girl. And if it's not you, I owe Andre twenty bucks." Another sigh escaped his lips, his eyes straight on Tori's. "Look, Tori, I want you girls to be happy. Just… Not in front of me, alright? I'm still pretty hung up on her."

The latina was about to respond when Jade walked back to the group, tucking her cell phone in her pocket. Something was up – her eyes were wide, the color drained from her face, yet there was a tiny smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"What's the matter, Jade?" Rex asked from his seat on Robbie's lap.

"Tanya said the DNA test results are ready, and they actually did find my shorts in Sinjin's bedroom drawer. If all goes as planned, the case goes to court in less than a month."

Jade didn't know whether she was excited, terrified, or a very confusing mixture of both.

* * *

_**A/N: **__College is killing me. So I'm sorry for the delay, but I'm half-dead! Only a week to go until July break, guys. :)_


	17. Human

_**A/N: **__Sorry for the wait! Now I'm on my July break, though. Which means... Well, YAY for me! And more chapters coming, so yay for you guys too. Thank you all for the patience and support. You guys are awesome. Also... Longest chapter yet! :D_

* * *

Sometimes, in life, you just have to suck it up and face the things that scare you. Maybe you have to go out at night in a dangerous street to help a friend in need. Maybe you're alone in the house and there's a spider in your bedroom, and you have no choice but to kill it. Maybe you have to speak in front of a crowd for an important school project despite your shyness, or meet your judgmental in-laws on a horrible hair day, or even speak up against an unfair authority figure.

And sometimes, you have to honor the promise you made your very favorite teacher – not to mention one of the strongest male figures in your life – and perform a duet with your rapist in front of the entire school.

Sinjin hadn't been kicked out of the school yet. As much as Sikowitz and the kids had pestered the principal about it, the man had insisted on keeping him there until his eventual conviction, despite all the proof that had already come up against him. Under the threat of a heavy lawsuit from Mrs Van Cleef – who, as it turns out, happened to be an incredibly influential lawyer – the teachers had all been instructed by the principal to treat him normally until the court date.

Ever since the scandal with the locker, students had divided into two groups. The louder one – although significantly smaller – was mostly comprised of stupid boys and jealous girls who genuinely believed, in their tiny brains, that Jade had it coming. The boys loudly congratulated Sinjin on "finally nailing the Goth bitch". The girls would shoot mean glares at her, happy to see her in larger sweaters and longer skirts. In a way, they felt like the threat posed by Jade West had been diminished.

The vast majority of the students, however, was on Jade's side. She didn't give much space for anyone to care for her, but deep inside, she appreciated not having to be alone at any moment from when she stepped foot in the school to when she stepped out of it. Sometimes it became annoying, or scary, or just too much to handle – but it was nothing a few of her usual angry screams wouldn't fix when someone overstepped their boundaries and insisted on bringing up the topic she so clearly wanted to avoid.

What was most surprising of all was Sinjin's reaction to all of this. Basically, he became a cartoon mouse – always hiding whenever someone would look at him. Whether it was out of shame or fear or whatever else, nobody knew. But he did keep his promise to stay as far away from Jade as he possibly could, up until tonight. Sikowitz had assigned them this duet, much to the girl's displeasure, months before anything bad happened. The Full Moon Jam was one of the most awaited events of the year; the song had already been written and rehearsed continuously up until the sleepover at Sikowitz's, and even though it hadn't been sung since, Jade still knew it almost perfectly.

Which, of course, didn't mean she wasn't on the verge of a nervous breakdown while getting dressed in Tori's bedroom.

"Jade, it'll be fine. You're gonna be up in the stage under the watch of everyone. Sikowitz is gonna be watching so carefully, if Sinjin even touches you, he'll be ready to pounce. You know that, right?"

"We'll be right there with you!" Cat exclaimed, closing her hand tight around the girl's wrist. "I'm tiny, but I can kick his butt! And Beck and Andre and Robbie will be there too. He's already pretty scared of Tori."

The girls sat on either side of Jade, who was still clutching Tori's hand between both of hers, taking deep breaths to try and calm down. Everything they'd said was true, yes – but the gnawing feeling in her chest was also very true and very prominent, to the point where she didn't know whether she could actually do this.

"You don't have to sing with him, you know. Either one of us can do it for you. Or we can kick him out of there and have Andre, Robbie or Beck fill in. Sikowitz isn't gonna be upset, you know that." Tori held onto the pale hand just as tightly, her heart breaking for her friend.

"It's not about him. I wanna stand up and prove to everyone that I'm not scared of this. I'm not scared of Sinjin! I back out, I'm the loser. I'm the weak little damsel in distress. No fucking way, Vega. I'm gonna…" She pulled her hand away, letting a loud sigh escape before standing up resolutely. "I'm gonna put on that dress, some makeup, look hot as all hell, and sing that song perfectly in front of the whole school."

And so she went on with the first stage of the plan without any more interruptions. By the end of the afternoon, after the girliest few hours they'd had in quite a while, Cat was wearing her highest heels and prettiest pink dress, Tori had squeezed into sparkly skinny jeans and a purple top, and Jade looked absolutely stunning in her favorite black lacy dress. After makeup and jewelry and a healthy dose of girl talk, the three girls left the house in Jade's car, seeming as ready as they could be for the night.

Even as they all walked into the already crowded school, Jade's resolve didn't falter. The ugly glare from the mean girls and dimwitted boys didn't throw her away, the stares to her exposed legs didn't make her uncomfortable; the girl seemed to be wrapped in a thick layer of pure tenacity. A layer that only became thicker when Robbie and Beck (strangely, without Andre) caught up to the three girls, and they were able to spend a good hour talking and eating junk food together, in what was shaping up to be a great night.

_Maybe this will be okay. Maybe the whole duet thing won't be such a bad idea. I guess. I'll show them I'm not scared. Oh, look, Lane is about to announce something up there…_

"And in two minutes we have Jade West and Sinjin Van Cleef, performing an original song called… _Okay_! Stay tuned, everyone!"

_Alrigh, maybe I am scared._

_Just a little. Nothing that could keep me from doing this._

Jade stood up slowly, focusing only on the empty stage as she tried to calm down her racing heart. She brought back every possible rational argument, every reason why it would be alright – there was no way he could even touch her, let alone do anything else, and go unnoticed. There was nothing to be afraid of. Nothing!

Then why did she feel like she was about to pass out?

And when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, if she wasn't scared, why did she jump out and slap the person behind her without even looking at who it was?

"Jade!" Tori's voice came in a loud squeal; the latina was holding her cheek and frowning. "What the hell?"

"Sorry. I just… Sorry. Combat mode."

If Tori said or did something afterwards, it went unnoticed by Jade, whose sole focus was the long walk from the table they were sitting at to the stage – the path that would make her decision impossible to back away from. She counted about fifty steps, plus the stairs. Seemed doable if she could just focus on one step at a time.

Step one. _I can do this. Shut up, brain. I have jelly legs worse than Robbie's when we- oh, awesome, think about that night. That'll make it easier, West. Great fucking job._

Step thirteen. Her legs felt weak, arms heavily swinging at her sides. _Come on. You've already gone pretty far. Suck it up. You don't have to show the rest of this school you're a big loser who can't even stand to sing a freaking duet with Sinjin. And his filthy hands. Get a grip, Jade! Just keep walking!_

Step twenty-one. Jade couldn't look down, or up, or to either side – all she could do was stare straight ahead. _What's the worst that could happen if I backed out? I'd be the laughingstock of- no. I'm doing this for myself. I'm not a quitter. I won't back out of this! Are you going to embarrass yourself like this? No. Hell no._

Step thirty-five. _More than halfway there. Can't turn back now. Everyone already saw you walk all the way here. You can't! No backing out, Jade! You're gonna have to do it now. No matter how much you want to walk away. No matter how wrong this is. Fuck it. I can't do this. I have to. Fuck!_

Step fifty-four. _I need to get out of here. I'm already up on the stage. I can't leave. But I have to. I'll pass out or throw up or something. Fuck. Fuck. I can't. You're pathetic. West. But I don't care. I need out. Out. Out!_

And just as she turned around to leave, the person Jade saw coming to her seemed like a vision from Heaven itself.

"Andre, what the hell are you doing here? Where's…" Jade's heart melted in relief at the sight of her friend, who smiled widely at her before pulling her into a tight, comforting hug.

"Did you know Sinjin has a peanut allergy?"

The girl arched a brow as she pulled away from Andre.

"You didn't? Aw, me neither. Isn't that a shame? I really wanted his milkshake to taste a little better. That's the only reason why I squirted some peanut butter into it when he wasn't looking."

That night, Jade discovered many things, most of which she had never even thought about before.

The first thing she found out was that her voice went surprisingly well with Andre's, so much so that they would end up performing numerous duets in the future.

The second was that her friends were there for her in ways she didn't even imagine.

And the third thing that Jade discovered at the Full Moon Jam was that maybe, just maybe, it was okay to not be able to handle everything she thought she could. It didn't make her weak, or bad, or in any way less. All it made her was entirely, happily human.


	18. Justice

_**A/N: **This chapter has something for everyone. And the next one won't take nearly two weeks, okay? I love all of the reviews I get, and I thank you so very much for every one of them! Please keep them coming so I'll keep posting :)_

* * *

If you go to Hollywood Arts High School and ask Tori and Jade's friends when the two girls officially got together, there won't be a unanimous answer. Andre swears it was on the night Jade got hurt, when she went to Tori for support. Cat disagrees; she'll say it happened the first time they went to get ice cream by themselves, while the rest of the gang was waiting in school. To Robbie, it was about a month later, when they shared their very first kiss. And Beck won't admit it, but he still thinks that kiss occurred much earlier, before he and Jade had even broken up.

However, if you go directly to the source, both Tori and Jade will tell you none of those answers are right. It took them a while to realize it, but looking back now, they consider the time they first got together to be right after Jade and Andre performed at the Full Moon Jam.

The two girls were sipping punch, enjoying a good conversation just barely above the loud music. Jade's blue eyes swept across the crowd, and a smirk formed on her lips as she glanced at the latina.

"Dude in the black shirt is ogling you so hard, your pants might fall off out of his sheer willpower."

"Cute." Tori shrugged. "Not my type, but definitely cute."

"Go for it, woman."

Tori couldn't sense the bitterness behind her friend's words, but it didn't matter – the only company she wanted that night was right by her side, in a stunning black dress.

"Nope. I'm good."

"Anyone around here you like?"

Tori's eyes met the floor, a chuckle escaping her.

"Kind of, yeah. You?"

"Definitely."

A long silence lingered between them, one that was only broken by the beginning of a particularly noisy song performed by some of the senior boys… And an idea started forming in Tori's mind. It was out there, and it was kind of scary, but Jade had been seconds away from singing a song with freakin' Sinjin and stood there like a champ. If she could do that, then Tori could definitely do this.

"Jade?"

"Hm?"

She couldn't just reach out and grab it. Holding Jade's hand to offer comfort or support felt completely natural, almost like an instinct. But just because she wanted to see if those thin fingers fit in between hers as perfectly as they seemed to? It required a little something else. Maybe something called courage.

"I just… I was wondering. You have no problem, ehm, holding my hand when you're sad, right?"

"Where are you going with this, Vega?"

Jade eyed her suspiciously, a brow rising as she crossed her arms. But the expression on her face was more amused than doubtful, which made Tori gather the balls to go on.

"Would you be okay with… Holding my hand just because it's nice?"

"Took you all of that just to say this?"

But then Jade smiled, and her hand reached for Tori's, and their fingers intertwined, and it felt amazing to have that kind of contact without any need for protection or comfort. They liked each other, that was it. Period.

"This… Is weird." Jade chuckled, biting her lip as she looked straight down at the ground. "I've never held hands with a girl before. I mean, not this way. When I was a kid, I'd hold Cat's hand a lot, but it was different. Innocent."

"And this is dirty?"

"Not dirty, you doofus. But… It feels…"

"Yeah, I know. It's good weird, though, right?"

"Do you see me letting go?"

And until much later that night, none of them did.

* * *

"So basically I'm supposed to answer invasive questions about my personal life and not even complain about it?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Tanya shrugged as she sipped her water, sitting across from Jade in her living room. "And believe me, they'll ask a lot. Anything at all about your sex life, your relationships, even Victoria."

"The hell does Tori have to do with this?"

"You guys have been spending a lot of time together. She's Officer Vega's daughter, the first person who saw you after the assault, and let's not forget she threatened Sinjin. His mom is gonna be all over that."

Jade sank into the couch cushion, a large pile of cut up paper already surrounding her seat. The only way for her to control her anger at that moment was reducing a magazine to tiny pieces, using her favorite pair of large scissors. Well, that and watching Bugs nibble on his carrot and scrunch his tiny nose.

"His semen was in my underpants. The cops found my shorts in his bedroom. What the hell can they say that weighs against that?"

"If the judge is a decent person, nothing. If not, we could have somewhat of a headache."

The girl stood up so fast, it startled the bunny. The scissors fell to the floor, along with the half-shredded magazine, and Jade's tone was nothing short of murderous.

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that little shaggy-haired piece of shit might get away with forcing his pathetic little dick into me because… Because what? Because I wasn't a virgin? Because I was into some kinky sex? Because Tori and I held hands the other day? How does _any _of that change the fact that he raped me?"

"I'm sorry, Jade. I couldn't agree with you more, but this is how it is. It sucks. We just have to go with it."

It wasn't fair. It was anything but fair. But Jade knew that if justice didn't happen to Sinjin through law, it sure as hell would happen through her very capable hands – and maybe her favorite pair of scissors.


	19. Trial pt 1

**_A/N: _**_I want to apologize profusely for the wait and for how very inaccurate this trial is. Seriously. I know it, you know it, we all know it. Please disregard that fact and pretend it sounds real. Okay? Thank you!_

* * *

Jade didn't remember a time when she had been more nervous. Dressed in her most modest, adult-looking outfit, her hair completely brown and no trace of black liner on her eyes, it seemed like she was completely out of place. Of course, court wasn't the best place for a sixteen-year-old girl to be in.

She tried to focus on the smaller details, things she could find some sort of reassurance in. Like the little string that was loose on her sleeve, so she kept wrapping it around her fingers. Or how surprisingly empty the courtroom was – only four people sat on the benches behind her; Tori, Sikowitz, Tanya, and Jade's father. Her friends had agreed that they didn't want to crowd her, which she was thankful for. The fewer people watching her, the better. Less pressure.

Standing a few feet away from her, Sinjin wore a suit and a very well-rehearsed guilty look, one that made the girl sick to her stomach. But there wasn't much more time to be revolted before the judge spoke up, startling Jade.

"On the count of sexual assault of Jadelyn Virginia West, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty, your Honor."

_The little bastard. Like he's not- ugh. Save it, Jade._ Saying nothing, she just scooched a little further away from her lawyer, some man her father had arranged for her. Henry Tamer was very tall, chubby, and vaguely Mediterranean-looking, but as unthreatening as a person could be.

"Ms West, you have the stand."

Trembling slightly, she rose to her feet and walked to the – in her own words – _little booth thingy_ they have in court. She stayed silent, waiting to be spoken to, as Tanya and Henry had made very clear.

Henry was in front of her just a few seconds later.

"Jade, can you please tell the jury what you were wearing on the night of your assault?"

"Why does it matter?" She grumbled, but Henry's stern look made her sigh. "Denim shorts, a red cloth in the back pocket, a red shirt, boots, a cowboy hat and black lace underwear. Although I don't see why this is relevant."

_That's why. _Two very familiar items in separate plastic bags were passed around for the jury to examine, making Jade's heart accelerate. It felt humiliating, her clothes being scrutinized by twelve strangers as if she wasn't even there – she might as well not have been.

"People's evidence 78-A and 78-B. Those are the denim shorts and the red cloth she was wearing that night. Both of them were found in the defendant's bedroom drawers. As you can see, the shorts have been cut. Upon DNA testing, the saliva that was soaking the rag was proven to be that of the victim, making it clear that she was gagged with it."

"Objection! Speculation." Martha Van Cleef stood up, her voice booming around the courtroom.

"Ms West, were you gagged with that cloth?"

"Yes, your Honor." Jade responded weakly, her voice suddenly a lot less powerful than she'd hoped.

"Then your objection is denied, Mrs Van Cleef. Proceed."

Henry smiled sneakily, his stance confident as he paced around the room, claiming every inch of it.

"Now, Jade. Can you tell us why those shorts are cut down the back?"

_Okay, West, you got this. It's time to not panic. Gather your metaphorical balls and do this. Come on! Talk!_

"He… Grabbed my scissors and cut them off."

_Well, that only hurt a whole lot._

"And why didn't you fight back?"

"Because his stupid friend, who's been missing since day one, was holding my goddamn wrists behind my back!"

_Easy, Jade. Deep breaths. If you get too angry right now, you'll lose it and have a panic attack. Come on. Breathe. _She tried to control her rage by squeezing her hands together, unable to push away the thought that if she had her scissors and something to cut, it would be one hell of a lot easier.

"The person you're referring to is another classmate of yours, correct?"

"Yeah. Burf Solomon. Dumb little bastard moved away right after… You know what."

"And did he touch you otherwise?"

"Not at all."

So many questions followed, Jade was at the edge of a rage fit. Questions regarding every single detail about the night of her assault, forcing her to relive every moment, down to the way Sinjin had held onto her hips while he fucked her. Anger and sadness and fear began to mix in a whirlwind of emotion, it taking all of her self-control to keep from jumping on someone's neck.

_Think about scissors. Snip, snip, snip. On paper. Cardboard. Plastic. Sinjin's neck. Dangerous, West, dangerous. Something more innocent. Think of Vega's stupid glittery scissors. That's better. God, she's a dweeb. But I like her. She's nice. And pretty. Okay, the Van Cleef bitch is getting up. She's gonna ask you stuff. Calm down. Tanya told you she was gonna play with your head._

Martha Van Cleef looked like a typical soccer mom, with her round, prominent belly and short blonde hair, curled on the tips. But when she opened her mouth, Jade's very first thought was _poisonous freakin' bitch._

"Defense evidence 52-D. This is an excerpt from Ms West's school records." She shot Jade a predatory look, smirking in her direction. "Jade, tell the jury what you almost got suspended for in March."

At first she didn't remember. March seemed so far away, it might have been years ago. And then it hit her like an anvil in a cartoon. _So that's her angle. Making me the whore. Nice going._

There was no way she could say it and not look bad.

"My boyfriend and I were making out in an empty classroom." She winced at the memory, pleasurable at the time, but now just plain embarrassing. "The guidance counselor walked in on us and thought we were having sex."

"According to the third paragraph, Ms West, his hand was under your skirt."

"It was indeed."

Jade said nothing beyond what she'd been asked. It was a fact, and nothing but a fact. She wasn't going to let this lady crack her. And apparently, she and Henry were in the same page.

"Objection. Relevance?"

"I'm just trying to show the jury that this girl here is not the saint that her attorney is making her out to be. I mean, yes, there is no doubt that my client had unprotected sex with her. I am not questioning that. What I'm trying to establish here is Jade West's character, your Honor."

"I'll allow it." The judge said sternly, although his tone clearly indicated he wasn't gonna have any more of Mrs Van Cleef's shit.

"Now, Jade. What sort of relationship did you have with my client before the incident?"

"I- I don't understand the question." _Fuck._

"Were you… Friends? Did one of you have a crush on the other?"

Just the thought made Jade begin to feel nauseous.

"Sinjin has a crush on anything with a pulse, ma'am." She replied bitterly, snarling in the boy's direction. "Apart from that, we go to the same school, and as you very well know, we live two houses apart."

"Did you and your friends hate him?"

Jade didn't see where this was going. Her answer was obvious. What did the woman have in mind after all?

"The consensus in the group is that he's pathetic and disgusting. I agree completely."

"So you agree that, if any girl were to actually consent to sex with him, you and your friends would be more than a little judgemental? Perhaps enough to ridicule the girl, to her face or behind her back?"

"Objection!"

"Withdrawn."

But the little smirk on her face made it very, very clear where she was going. _Bitch is trying to make it look like I said it was rape just to cover up- FUCK. I hate her. I hate her so fucking much._ _Okay, Jade, focus. Focus and take this whore down. You can do it. You're the badassest bitch in that school._

"Jadelyn, is it correct that you enjoy playing with scissors? In fact, is it correct that you've once cut up a large garbage bin in your janitor's closet with just a pair of common scissors?"

_See? Badassest bitch in the fucking school._

"Yes." She replied with a small smile, resisting the urge to add that if Sinjin weren't convicted, he was very likely to have the same fate as the trashcan. Her eyes met Tanya's, and the two shared a meaningful look. _Careful, _said the brown eyes. _I'm doing my best, _retorted the blue, in a silent conversation.

"So how do you explain having two ninety-something-pound boys overpower you easily, with no restraint except for their bare hands and a flimsy gag?"

And as Jade opened her mouth, she realized she had nothing to say. And she had nothing to say because she was asking herself that very question.


	20. Trial pt 2

_**A/N:**__ WARNING: the ending of this chapter has triggers up your wazoo. If I'm using the word "wazoo", I mean business, guys. Serious business. Read at your own discretion._

* * *

_Why didn't I do anything, anyway? What happened there? That's the only goddamn part of the night I legit don't remember. Fuck. I don't have an answer. This lady is smiling like she already won, and I'm here looking like… Like I'm guilty. Fuck. Fuck!_

She didn't say a word. All she could do was sit and stare wide-eyed at the woman who turned her back victoriously. And yet she couldn't move. Why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she say anything?

"So here we have a rebellious sixteen-year-old girl, who had a very active sex life – sometimes engaging in semi-public sexual activity – and who would clearly be banished and derided by her group of friends if she admitted to having consensual sex with my client, whom she could have easily overpowered. I have nothing further, your Honor. In fact, I believe there is no case here to begin with."

Jade slumped back in her seat. There was not one thing in the woman's speech that wasn't true, yet the story she told was false. It was false! Sinjin had taken her against her will. But she couldn't shake away the notion that even with Burf holding her down, she could have fought back, and didn't. She was strong. She could have turned and punched one of them. Or both. But she didn't!

Why didn't she?

_You brought it on yourself, West._

The thought came crashing down on her, sending Jade's brain into a furious downward spiral that made her freeze in place. _It's my fault._

Fortunately, she didn't have to talk right now. As soon as she was told to, Jade hurried out of her seat and settled down in her previous spot, slumped on the chair as her thoughts made her dizzy.

It was Tori's turn to be interrogated by Henry.

"Ms Vega, is it correct that you were the first person to have any contact with Ms West after the incident?"

Jade watched as Tori gave him a firm nod.

"Can you describe her state?"

"She was… Transformed." The latina sighed loudly, her eyes becoming sadder as she remembered. "Her shirt was open on the front and most of the buttons were missing. And she wasn't wearing her shorts. Her makeup was all over her face like she'd been crying and her hair was all over the place."

_I was really shook up. Maybe it wasn't so much my fault after all. But what if it was? _Jade didn't know what to think anymore.

"Describe her emotional state, Victoria. Tell the jury how Jade was acting when you met her."

When Tori's voice finally came out, it was much weaker than Jade had expected; it sounded like the girl was on the verge of tears.

"Jade was… Quiet. I couldn't get a word out of her until after I had wrapped her in a blanket, taken her to my bedroom and lent her something to wear. She was shaking the whole time and was too scared to sleep without me holding her hand." She bit her lip, swallowing hard for a moment. "The next morning, I… Jade told me to answer her phone when it rang, then changed her mind and answered it herself. It took her like ten minutes to calm down afterwards. Just from a single damn phone call."

The end of Tori's sentence came out broken, her eyes blinking hard as some tears ran down her face.

_I didn't realize I was in such a messy state that day. I'm glad she was so nice to me, though._ Jade allowed herself a tiny smile, one that quickly faded at the sight of her friend's tear-streaked face.

"Is that sort of anxious behavior a common occurrence for Jade?" Henry asked sternly.

"Not at all. She's usually short-tempered and always has something witty to say at the right moment. I had never seen her so silent and so… Accepting of help before."

Jade sighed, crossing her arms as she looked straight at the girl. _I wouldn't have accepted anyone else's help that night._

Henry crossed his arms as a sly grin spread across his lips.

"Now, Ms Vega, to your knowledge, did Jade tell anyone in the school about her alleged rape, except for you?"

"No, sir." Tori answered promptly. "Our class found out she had been sexually assaulted, although they didn't know by whom, but Jade didn't tell them. Something happened."

She briefly described the incident in Sikowitz's class, after Cat and Robbie's improv scene. Nodding in understanding, Henry looked Tori straight in the eye, his large hands moving almost frantically as he asked the next question.

"And how did they find out who had done it to her? Did Jade herself tell you and your schoolmates?"

Tori laced her own fingers together, glancing briefly at Jade before responding.

"No, she didn't. She told my father when she was reporting it, and I was by her side. It was clear how ashamed she was, how- how fucking _mortified _she was to admit it."

"And the rest of your school?"

"Our friend Cat saw me threatening to rip Sinjin's balls off." She admitted matter-of-factly, a proud smirk on her face. "Then she told our friends, who decided to do something about it and spray-painted 'rapist' on his locker. Then, obviously, the whole school found out."

"And Jade had nothing to do with it?"

"No, sir. She and I were having ice cream when they painted it."

Henry seemed satisfied with this answer, gesticulating rapidly as he turned to the jury.

"You see, the defense claims this girl cried rape because she didn't want to admit to having sex with the defendant. How would that even be possible if she didn't want anybody to know it happened? In fact, if she had indeed consented to having intercourse with him, wouldn't it just be simpler to deny it had happened? And finally, why in Heaven's name would she drive to Victoria Vega's house late at night, half-naked, putting herself at risk, just to make her story believable?"

A moment of awkward silence followed; exactly what Henry wanted.

"Nothing further, your Honor."

To be fair, it all made perfect sense. Jade knew she had never consented to anything that involved even Sinjin's _presence _near her, let alone his touch anywhere on her body. Granted, she could have fought them off. She could have protested more. But in the middle of her very confusing thoughts, the girl could only come to one conclusion.

_My pathetic lack of resistance might make me a weak-ass bitch, but it sure as hell doesn't make me a liar._

Mrs Van Cleef's cross-interrogation of Tori was nothing particularly exciting. Apparently, the woman herself didn't have much interest in the witness; after a few brief questions about Jade's character and a very rudimentary attack on Tori's reliability as a witness, it was over.

And now came the most critical time.

Sinjin was called to stand.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_I wanna make it very clear that the conclusion Jade came to is not, in any way, an attack or a way to look down on rape victims who don't offer resistance. Not in the slightest. Jade herself thinks that way because she is constantly angry at herself for not being the emotionless overachiever her father has always demanded of her. In her mind, emotions are weakness, and letting them interfere with the purely rational way to act in any situation is a clear sign of that weakness._

_I said all this to reaffirm that __**no. Not resisting/not fighting back does NOT make you weak or "easy" or anything less than purely human, and it never ever EVER means the person deserves it. **__Am I being clear? Italics and bold clear? Okay._

_Thank you all for the reviews, and a HUGE thanks to the awesome cherrprn4, whose incredibly helpful PM gave me most of the ideas for this chapter and the next one. And thanks to all of you for keeping up with the story!_


	21. Trial pt 3

"Sinjin, please walk us through the night of the incident." Henry requested casually, almost as if he were talking about the weather.

The boy took a deep breath, his expression carefully architectured to appear neutral and somewhat regretful.

"It was Burf's last night in town before he moved away. We were sitting in my porch, and we… We wanted to do something memorable, you know. Something special. So I brought out a bottle of vodka and we shared it."

The boy pulled off his glasses and wiped them with the hem of his shirt, then put them back on, sighing as he turned to the judge.

"That's all I remember, your Honor. I don't usually drink much, and Burf and I together went through almost a whole bottle. I- I was out of my mind."

The judge nodded, but Henry let out an incredulous scoff, crossing his arms in disbelief. His sound was matched by a quieter one coming from Jade, who was still trying to convince herself that standing up and beating the living shit out of that disgusting little pig wasn't the best idea at the moment.

"So you don't remember going over to Ms West's house, ripping out the buttons on her shirt, and cutting her shorts off, do you?"

Sinjin swallowed hard.

"No, sir. I have no recollection of that."

"And when you found said shorts in your possession, what did you do?"

A little sigh escaped the boy, an almost imperceptible smile forming on him. The answer had clearly been rehearsed. Jade almost imagined him and his mother at the dinner table, fine-tuning the sentences like lines to a play.

"I assumed they belonged to my sister, sir. When I asked her about it, she mentioned that a friend of hers had slept over recently, and probably left them there. I thought nothing of it."

"Even though they were in your bedroom, with a large cut down the back?"

Every time the tear in the fabric was mentioned, the memory of how it was made brought a huge shiver down Jade's spine.

"They weren't in my bedroom at the time, sir. The maid found them on the floor somewhere in the house and handed them to me, since my sister wasn't home. When Courtney said one of her friends had probably left them there, I assumed it was because they had ripped down the middle, thus making the girl need to change clothes and forget the ripped shorts at my house."

_What a load of bullshit._

"And why did you keep them in your drawer, along with the cloth that Ms West was gagged with?"

"The maid found the cloth and stuffed it in my drawer. I own a very similar handkerchief, so I didn't even pay much attention to that, sir. As for the pants, Courtney asked me to store them for her, since her closet was full and messy."

The subject of the incriminating clothes was a dead end, but Henry's interrogation of Sinjin was far from over. After the questioning about the evidence proved itself fruitless, the man took a much more certain road.

"Mr Van Cleef, how did you and Jade get along in school?"

The question seemed to take Sinjin by surprise; Jade could see matching smiles form at the same time on both the Van Cleefs' faces, and almost read their thoughts. _This is gonna be easier than we thought._

A hint of panic began to stab at Jade's stomach.

"I'm in love with her, sir." Sinjin replied quietly, the smugness all gone from his face as he put on his best sad puppy eyes, making Jade nauseous. "In fact, I've been in love with her since I moved into the neighborhood and met her, when we were just children. But I'm always offering to do things for her, and met with nothing short of gratuitous brutality."

"What kind of brutality?" Henry arched his eyebrow suspiciously.

"Screams. Incessant name-calling. She'd pinch and sometimes slap me. I'd come close to her, lay a friendly hand on her shoulder, and she would scream at me to go away. I would never, ever hurt someone like Jade, sir."

The girl's nausea began to increase; one look at Tori told her that she was definitely not the only one to be disgusted by Sinjin's ridiculous little speech.

"The way she treated you must have made you pretty angry. Did you ever want to seek revenge?"

"Never, sir."

"Really? Not even a little bit?"

As Jade herself couldn't figure out where her lawyer was going with these questions, Mrs Van Cleef's voice echoed around the courtroom.

"Objection. The defendant has already answered that question, your Honor."

"Sustained." The judge remarked sternly. "Mr Tamer, if you have a point, please make it."

And then a wicked grin formed on the attorney's lips as a few sheets of paper were brought out and distributed among the jury.

"Oh, your Honor, I was just making sure. Because, you see, a quick Internet search brought up a very interesting page. People's evidence…"

"Objection! Anything from my client's private pages online would have required a warrant."

"Not if it's public. In this case, anyone who has an account on this website would be able to see it."

The judge frowned, but the expression on his face was more curious than displeased.

"I'll allow it."

"Mr Van Cleef, you have an account on FetLife, which is, according to the definition given on the homepage, a fetish forum. Isn't that correct?"

The boy nodded sheepishly.

"I don't think that's a crime, sir."

"Actually, since you are underage, it's a lot more problematic than you'd think. But let's overlook that fact for a moment. Tell us what your username on that forum is."

Jade could see a faint blush rising to his cheeks.

"_Cleefman_."

"Good. People's evidence 78-C is a post made by the defendant the day before the assault, in the topic_ Taboo Fantasies. _One of the sub-topics, in which this exchange was found, is called _Actual Rape – No Safeword._ Can you please explain to the jury what a safeword is, Mr Van Cleef?"

Sinjin squeezed his hands together uncomfortably.

"It's a code word used between the dominant and submissive partners, sir. If it's said at any moment during a scene, everything stops."

_His act. It's faltering._ Jade smirked slightly, watching the look on the boy's eyes turn into panic, although his expression remained exactly the same. _Oh, man, this is gonna be good._

"So in the absence of a safeword, if the person said 'no' or tried to get away, that would mean they are _not _consenting."

"Objection! Speculation."

"Overruled. Go on, Mr Tamer."

"I will now read an excerpt from what the defendant posted in that forum. Quote. 'There is a bitch in my neighborhood I've always wanted to teach a lesson to. This girl doesn't know any kindness or compassion and she's been rejecting me for as long as I can remember. Just once, I'd like to have what I deserve, even if it meant I had to tie her up and gag her'. Who were you talking about, Mr Van Cleef?"

_That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard. He's gonna lose it. I'm trying not to throw up. But he's gonna lose it! Look at that face. Look at his bottom lip trembling. You're dead, Sinjin._

_He's got squat._

_ Look! Silence. Fuck yes. Take that._

_ Come on, Henry, destroy this little piece of shit._

"In fact, I don't think we need an answer from you. Another user asked you what this, quote-unquote, 'bitch' looked like. You answered, and I quote, 'Like a Goth dominatrix. Huge breasts, tiny waist, amazing ass. She's pale and has these incredible blue eyes and black hair with green or blue stuff on it, depending on the day. And she's always wearing these little skirts, showing off those legs…'"

A lot of things happened at once.

Martha Van Cleef gasped.

Jade's nails dug so hard into her palm, they actually drew blood.

Sinjin stood up.

His hands were shaking.

And he pointed an accusing finger at Jade.

And then he screamed.

"Well, of course I wanted to hit that! You don't know, okay? You don't have a single fucking _clue_ what it's like to be rejected day after day after…" He swallowed dryly. "If I'm going down, I might as well just fucking say it. I fucked Jade West. She owed me! I did so many good things for her and she just- just blew me off and kept parading that _ass _around the school like it was a goddamn trophy! I raped her, I wanted to, and damn it, I would do it again if I had the chance! I'd stick my cock into that tight thing until she fucking dropped dead!"

His yells were only interrupted by the judge's gavel slamming harshly down on the wood.

"ORDER! That is enough!"

It was a good thing he stopped where he did, or Jade would have actually spilled her lunch all over the courtroom floor. But as dizzy and nauseous as she felt, she found a little spark of vengeful happiness in the middle of her swirling rage.

_He confessed._

_I win!_

Despite Martha's reaction – which could only be defined as a full-blown temper tantrum – Sinjin was sentenced. Prison without bail, plus reimbursement of all the money Jade had spent on medical exams, including the pregnancy test and all the tests for STDs.

The excitement of finally seeing her assailant get dragged away by two police officers got into Jade so intensely, she wasted no time in giving Sikowitz and Tanya a big, enthusiastic hug. Her father was met with a slightly more awkward embrace, but even that didn't make her happiness falter.

And Tori… Well.

You see, when Jade looked at her, she didn't think about what she was doing. As a general rule, she was always careful and methodic about any display of affection. Her fear of being rejected, of showing any sign of vulnerability, was strong enough to keep her very well restrained until the other person made it completely clear that the feelings were mutual.

But when Tori went in for a hug, the pale girl surprised her with a kiss to the lips. Granted, it wasn't a movie kiss. It was so quick that if Tori's heart weren't beating so fast and her cheeks weren't burning, she wouldn't have been sure it had really happened. But it was more than enough for now, and as the two girls left the courtroom holding hands, Jade was left with the very decisive thought that she had actually won twice that day.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_YAY, a Jori kiss! Isn't that lovely? I'm so happy about this chapter. The trial was enormous, but it was worth it, and the chapter was worth the wait, wasn't it? I think so._

_For those of you who use Twitter, follow me ( littleweirdo) if you want. Or just do a search for #StayTheFanfic for updates on how far along I am on upcoming chapters!_


	22. Buttface

When Jade and her father arrived at their house, the girl was greeted by a pair of lanky, pale arms wrapping tightly – and a little uncomfortably – around her neck. The familiar smell of alcohol and Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace lotion told her there was no use in resisting as the woman held onto her for a good three minutes, then pulled away somewhat reluctantly.

"Mom." She nodded, slightly amused. "How was Atlanta?"

Evelyn West grinned at her daughter, red-eyed and dopey as she looked her up and down repeatedly.

"Have you grown? I think you grew. Your hair looks so pretty like that."

Jade smiled softly back at her mother, shrugging.

"I haven't gotten any taller in like three years, mom."

"Well, you look wonderful. How was the… The thing you were at with your father? What was it again?"

After having explained it at least five times in the past month, Jade had just decided it was better to make up a simple lie. There was no way she'd remember it, anyway.

"It was a PTA meeting at school. Sikowitz wanted to discuss my behavior with me and dad again."

No attention was given to that, as usual, as Evelyn took a swig from her bottle, something Jade knew wasn't orange juice.

"By the way, Jade, Kitty's in your room!"

Mrs West had been referring to Cat as Kitty since the first time they met, which the little redhead didn't mind at all. A little curious about the surprise visit, she waved goodbye to her mother – knowing the woman would probably be passed out on the couch by the time Jade came back to the living room – and opened her bedroom door, only to be greeted by a sharp smack to the arm, then another, then another.

"You're a buttface! A big, stupid, stinky buttface!" Cat groaned, slapping at Jade's arm until it actually began to sting. The girl's first reaction was to jump back, but that was Cat, her childhood friend who actually thought _buttface _was an insult. She couldn't possibly mean any harm – so she just let the girl hit her as much as she needed to get it out of her system. When Cat was frustrated, she did that. It didn't hurt enough to make Jade want to hit her back, and even if it did, she doubted she'd actually do it; her love for the redhead was far too much.

"What's the matter with you?" The brunette rubbed at her arm, unable to hold back a little smirk. "You're… Clawing all over the place."

"You jerk! You promised me you'd call as soon as it ended! I bit off my nails waiting for you to tell me if that dorkbag was put in jail and nothing! Nothing! I hate you!"

The next thing Jade knew was that she was being yanked into a tight hug, one that she was actually comfortable with and eager to return.

"I'm sorry, kiddo." She chuckled, chin resting on Cat's shoulder. "It was all so crazy. But he's in jail now! I won!"

"That's awesome. I just wish I hadn't heard it from Tori first."

The little redhead sat cross-legged on Jade's bed, patting the dark purple comforter for her best friend to join her.

"Seriously?" Jade arched a brow as she sat close to the girl.

"She texted me. You had your phone too. I'm your best friend!" Another smack hit Jade hard on the knee.

"Cat, you know I say this with all the love in my heart, but if you don't stop hitting me soon, I swear I'm gonna shove that pillow against your face."

"That's not the point." Cat laid back on the bed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling. "I don't think you even get it."

Seeing such a serious look in those brown eyes was rare, and often a cause for worry. Jade herself had only seen it a handful of times, and it always meant trouble.

She did the only thing she knew would work: lay beside the girl, mimicking her position, and look straight up until she felt like talking. Sometimes it was quick, sometimes she'd even fall asleep waiting for Cat to find her words, but it didn't matter – they always came, and they were never even close to any expectations.

This time, the silence only lingered for less than five minutes, and it was disrupted by a reluctant question, barely audible, even though the girls were laying side by side.

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"Excuse me?" Jade glanced at her friend, who was still looking at the ceiling as if the old glow-in-the-dark plastic stars were fascinating.

"When you got hurt. I live closer to you than Tori does. Why didn't you come to me?"

Jade had sincerely hoped this question wouldn't come up. She knew it would, and try as she might, she couldn't come up with an answer that was simultaneously true and not hurtful.

Cat had been mature enough to not act impulsively after Jade's breakdown in Sikowitz's class, and understanding enough to repeatedly reassure her that she had nothing to apologize for when she sought her and Robbie out. Not a single soul had found out about the incident through Cat, and when she discovered who had done it, all she did was inform the boys. Every day since it happened, no matter how much of a hurry she was in or how many books she was carrying, the first thing the little redhead did in the morning was give Jade a hug. And whenever Jade would squirm away from her touch or even her company, she never failed to give her best friend a smile and tell her it was okay.

And yet, pitifully enough, the reason Jade hadn't come to her was…

"I didn't think you'd be able to handle it."

Silence again. Jade could feel the guilt swirling in her chest, her blood pounding in her ears, and the only idea she had was to count the stars on the ceiling silently, just to keep herself from getting even more nervous.

This time, Cat's voice had nothing reluctant about it.

"You always do this. Everyone does! Everyone thinks I'm the weak little whatever who can't handle her- her flipping _best friend's_ suffering! Why? I mean, you've known me for like a decade! You _know _what my brother is like and you never see me being a baby or even complaining about it! I have a really tough life, and if I have to be a little childish to deal with it, it's perfectly okay and it does NOT make me weak or stupid or any of those names everyone calls me! Apparently, without exceptions!"

"I don't think you're weak _or _stupid! I just…"

"Just what?"

"I just felt like you wouldn't treat me the same way."

The redhead turned to her friend with a skeptical expression.

"What the heck do you mean?"

"I just…" Jade sighed. "I have no good answer, Cat."

"Then give me the bad one and don't just assume I'm gonna cry or storm out or whatever you think I'll do."

Jade turned to her side, propping herself up on her elbow and buying herself some time to think about the best way to word it. It was difficult to talk to Cat about anything that wasn't superficial – not because she couldn't take it, but because there wasn't another person in the world who felt more empathy than her. Jade hated seeing her sad, and by trying to avoid it, she had just made it worse.

"I guess… I didn't want you to be sad or see me as a victim."

"But you _were _a victim." Cat rolled over to mimic her friend's position, her eyes a lot more hurt than Jade had hoped for. "Of course I was sad! But you tried to hide it from me and you made me double sad. Sad because you got hurt and sad because you trust Tori more than me."

The pale fingers reached out to entwine with the tan ones, the most innocent and natural gesture there could be.

"I don't trust anyone more than you, silly. You're like my sister."

"Don't call me silly. It's the natural conclusion to draw from all of this."

"Well, it's a valid conclusion, but it's wrong." Jade gave her friend's hand a little squeeze. "Tori is great, but I've known you forever. You didn't tell anyone when I pooped my pants in first grade. That's friendship you can't overcome."

Both girls laughed at the memory, the air in the room becoming considerably lighter as nostalgia began to seep inside.

"How about when you told Mrs Trent a made up story about your dad for ten straight minutes just to give me time to sneak into the classroom with snacks for us?" Cat giggled. "The best candy is the sneaky kind."

"Oh, my God. I just thought about when we spent the entire day acting and dressing like each other. It helped that we had the same hair color back then. But you were strutting around the school in that huge black sweater you borrowed from your brother, and the sleeves covered your whole hands, remember?"

"You buttface. I looked adorable."

Jade stuck out her tongue playfully, then let out a deep sigh.

"You know, in the interest of full disclosure, remember how you taught me how to kiss, and I swore you'd be the only girl I'd ever lay my lips on? Yeah, I definitely can't say that anymore."

Cat's eyes went wide, a big smile curving her lips.

"Tori? Are you serious? Tell me everything!"

Giggling like two schoolgirls – which, come to think of it, they were – the pair of best friends spent more than an hour without shutting up for a single second. Nobody needed to ask if Cat was staying over; it was a given. It was also a given that they'd drink hot chocolate together before bed, and clink their mugs together in a toast that was their biggest sleepover tradition.

And when Jade saw her mother passed out on the couch and her father locked up in his study, she didn't feel even the tiniest bit alone.

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Thanks so much for the love and reviews and everything. I'm tired as all hell, but here's a chapter and I hope you enjoy it! Remember to check the tag #StayTheFanfic on Twitter for updates on how the chapters are going :)_


	23. Drunk pt 1

Tori had always liked being around nature, and when Andre suggested celebrating Robbie's birthday with a picnic in the park, she'd been the first to say yes. The awkward part was that she had been the second to arrive – when Tori came to the park, with the blanket, cups and napkins, she found that Beck was already there, leaning against a tree.

_Boy, that's gonna be fun._

From the way his face dropped when he saw himself alone with Tori, Beck was thinking the exact same thing.

_Why do we have to be grown up and act like this is the most normal thing in the world? I wish I were five and could run away and hide. Maybe I'll go by the lake and feed the ducks- nevermind, the lake is right here._ _I could throw him in the water, though. That'd break the ice._

"Hey." She gave him an uncomfortable little wave, quickly stretching out the blanket on the ground just to have something to do. "Nobody else here yet?"

"Nope."

The boy stood up and set down the large Tupperware full of sandwiches on the blanket, smiling awkwardly at her.

It was a few moments of complete silence, both teenagers just glancing around at the park, until Beck opened the case of sandwiches.

"Want one?"

"No, thanks. I'd rather wait until the guys get here."

More silence.

It was Tori who made the effort this time.

"So… What's everyone bringing?"

"Andre's bringing the cake and the birthday boy, Cat's got sodas and juice, and Jade's taking care of booze. Namely, her famous marshmallow vodka shots and some beers for us."

Tori arched a brow at the boy, chuckling as her fingers played absentmindedly with the corner of the big yellow blanket.

"You do realize that's illegal."

"You do realize if we don't cause any trouble, nobody will give a fuck."

A shrug, and even more awkward silence.

Until…

"So, you're going for the 'just ignoring the elephant in the park' approach. I'll just be blunt and get rid of the uncomfortable thing. You're dating my ex."

It was a very simple statement, and comprised solely of a fact, but it made Tori's cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Well…"

"Aren't you?"

"Nothing's set in stone yet, but yeah. We're together, in a way."

Beck frowned slightly, something Tori didn't know how to react to, so she ended up settling for another shrug. Really, what do you say to someone who used to date – and is theoretically still friends with – the person you've been seeing for the past two weeks?

"Your parents know yet?" He asked abruptly, gaze not meeting Tori's.

"I'm waiting for it to be more definitive."

"I'd keep an eye out for _her _family, if I were you."

But before anything else could be said on the subject, Jade and Cat were making their way towards the group, a big smile on the redhead's face matched by a much smaller one on the brunette's.

Tori's heart accelerated considerably at the sight. _Is this supposed to happen? I feel pathetic. But damn, she's perfect. _Cat took a seat by Beck's side, Jade settling down beside Tori and quietly taking her hand. _Yep. Perfect._

Sometimes, when she was holding Jade's hand for support, there was a bit of a spark, but she'd ignore it with a fierce resolution. Right now, however, that spark could freely run from her fingers to her heart without even a little bit of guilt.

With her free hand, Jade opened the case full of large marshmallows filled with colorful Jello, and the three friends peeked in with interest.

"That's right, kids. I've got enough of these to give all six of us a nice buzz, plus a six-pack, all courtesy of my mom. There's a lot of stuff I can say about the woman, but she does keep the pantry full of candy and booze."

"Well, isn't that all you want in a mother?" Beck chuckled, reaching for one of the treats, but Cat slapped his hand away.

"Not until everyone gets here!"

Tori smirked at the girl.

"Is this the day we finally get to see Cat Valentine get drunk?"

And then the redhead and Jade exchanged a look so mischievous, it brought on questioning stares from the other two.

"_I've_ seen Cat drunk."

"Shut up!" She gave her friend a smack to the knee. "And that doesn't even count. It was a bad idea. A bad, bad, _bad _idea."

"Should we tell them?"

"Sister, you ain't got no choice now." Chuckled a very familiar voice behind Tori and Jade, followed by Robbie saying a friendly hello, and being suddenly pulled into a huge hug by a very excited Cat.

And then Tori.

Then Beck joined in, and Andre, and Jade, causing the little redhead to squeal out "yay, Robbie muffin!", and making the birthday boy laugh harder and hold her closer in the middle of the mess of teenagers huddled together.

Only after the _Robbie muffin_ came undone did the laughter die down, and instead of just holding Tori's hand, Jade unceremoniously pulled her down to lay on her lap. Slightly surprised – but not at all disappointed – by how comfortably her head fit on the girl's thigh, Tori shot her a big, goofy smile, purposely ignoring Beck's very loud scoff.

"Alright, girls! We can hear all about your newfound lesbian love for each other in a bit. Right now I wanna hear what Jade was about to tell everyone. It sounded embarrassing." Robbie smiled at the two as he reached for a sandwich.

The brunette sighed, but picked up a snack for herself and started to talk.

"We were fourteen, Cat's stupid-ass brother was eighteen, and both my parents and Cat's grandma somehow thought it was a wise idea to leave the three of us alone for a whole weekend. And I had snuck some money from my mom's purse before going there. So, Saturday afternoon, the three of us decided to hit this tiny little corner store and get some candy and chips for the day. And then… Cat, take it from there."

The shorter girl let out a little laugh, cheeks going pink as she reached innocently for the first marshmallow shot.

"Well… We bought chips. And candy. And Yoo-hoo. And juice. And a bottle of something alcoholic. I don't know what it was, but it was cheap, and it tasted like pee. This marshmallow thingy is yummy, by the way."

"Yeah, yeah. When do we get to the part you guys looked all guilty about? 'Cause I wanna hear that." Beck winked at the girl. "Tori. You're not gonna eat? I think I made enough sandwiches to feed the six of us, plus half the people in this park."

Tori just stretched out an arm to pick up one of the sandwiches, taking a clumsy bite before answering him with a laugh.

"Here comfy. Sitting up baaaad."

"Lazy ass." Jade smirked. "Anyway, I grew up watching my mom drink fuckloads of alcohol, and for what it's worth, the woman gave me some pretty good tips. You know, the standard 'two cups of water for every cup of alcohol' thing, which she herself doesn't follow, but it's good advice. One way or another, I didn't wanna end up passed out in the living room like she usually does, so I went slow. Not as slow as I should have gone, but slow. Our little kitty here, on the other hand…"

"Jaaaaade."

"Quit whining, kiddo, I'm telling the story. Anyway, she went all out. And I mean _all out_. The woman mixed alcohol with Yoo-hoo, for God's sake. You know how that tastes?"

"Terrible, that's how." Andre interfered with a soft laugh. "I've done that."

"Exactly. But I think Cat was responsible for making at least three quarters of the bottle disappear, and I'll tell you, it was no tiny bottle. Among the highlights of the day, there was Giggly Cat, Stripper Cat, Hyper Cat, who wanted to play tag – which turned into hide and seek, and it took us a half hour to find her… And, finally, Linda Blair Cat, all over my fuzzy black slippers."

"Excuse me, please go back to the part about Stripper Cat, and describe it."

"Really, Robbie?" Tori threw an empty plastic cup at him. "You wanna hear about how a fourteen-year-old girl took her clothes off in front of her brother and best friend, who was also fourteen?"

"Yeah, man. Doesn't make you sound like a psycho at all."

"Oh, shut up, Beck. I'm picturing current Cat."

"That doesn't make me feel any better!" She squealed. "Did I really strip all the way? Please tell me I didn't strip all the way."

"Oh, you kept your monkey undies on. And after you threw up everything there could possibly be in that tiny little stomach of yours, you asked me to sleep in your bed with you. It was kinda cute, actually."

The subject gradually changed from Cat's underage striptease to alcohol stories from the group – well, from five of the six; Tori had nothing to tell (yet) except for a vaguely amusing anecdote involving Trina and a bottle of wine. She didn't really mind; laughing along to their tales and laying her head on Jade's lap was completely fine… But after the third or fourth puke story, her mind began to wander.

What did Beck mean by keeping an eye out for Jade's family? Better yet, how worried should she be? Judging from the way Mr West had treated his daughter when she confessed to him that she'd been raped, very. Maybe her mother was better. And she hadn't even thought about how she'd talk to her own parents about it – in her mind, for some reason, introducing Jade as her _girlfriend _(was that even the word to be used?) wouldn't be harder than introducing a boyfriend. Up until now, she hadn't even thought that having a girlfriend meant she would finally have to admit she liked women.

Ever since she could remember, the topic of homosexuality had come up only a handful of times, in casual conversation. And given that, up until very recently, she hadn't really had any interest in the matter, all she knew was that her parents weren't violently opposed to it.

Maybe she should talk to Trina first; she already kind of knew, anyway. Then her dad. Yeah, her dad would be the best place to start. Or she could just bring Jade over for lunch or dinner sometime and be like 'yep, this is my girlfriend'.

Another issue to consider was the whole balance of the group now that she and Jade were no secret to the six. Robbie seemed happier than he'd been in a good while, maybe because this makeshift party in the middle of a park was the final confirmation that his friends didn't think he was the same as Sinjin after all. Aside from a few slightly inappropriate comments, he seemed to be completely unfazed by the change, as it should be. Andre and Cat were almost annoyingly supportive, with Cat's constant _awww_ing every time they held hands, and Andre's near obsession with making some dumb excuse for winking at them and leaving whenever he found himself alone with the two. The problem was Beck.

She got where he was coming from, yes. And it wasn't like he'd been rude to them at all when it came to them being together. Still, when even a hug or a peck to the cheek between you and your significant other earns you both a very audible scoff from someone you hang out with every day, it's not the most pleasant situation. Of course, it wasn't pleasant for him, either. That was exactly what Tori was worried about: would it end eventually – sooner rather than later – or was a substantial change about to happen in their group?

So much to think about in one day.

What Tori didn't know just then was that she wouldn't be remembering much of that afternoon, either; and that by the end of the day, she would have a very good drunken story to tell…

* * *

**_A/N: _**_Thank you so much for your patience and your love! I was so happy with the support and encouragement I found in your reviews for my author's note – which I'll be removing now that the problem is fixed and _Stay _is officially back on track. I have a buttload of ideas, and I'm excited about this!_

_And yes, of course the next chapter will feature Tori's drunken adventure._

_The situation with my family got better much faster than I'd expected, which means I started feeling better, and this chapter was half-written anyway, so I finished it in just a few hours. Next ones will (hopefully) just be better and better. If there's anything you think I should do more of, or less of, please say so in the reviews!_

_Thanks again! :)_


	24. Drunk pt 2

_**A/N: **__Pathology class was boring. I got inspired. Enjoy, and please review!_

* * *

As she rode in the front seat of the car, more silent than if they'd been going to a funeral, Tori couldn't stop asking herself how she could have gotten into this mess. Her thoughts were clouded, eyes darting from window to window to the backseat as she went over the events of the afternoon.

It had started so innocently, like all the best and worst stories do. A few of Jade's marshmallow shots, and her body was so unaccustomed to alcohol, it was actually enough to make everything sound funny. She was lighter, happier, and a little dizzier, too - standing up too quick was a bad idea, and she fell on her rear end, laughing like a child.

And then... She didn't know for sure, but it wasn't long before that six-pack was gone, and while she knew with absolute certainty that both Beck and Robbie had each had at least one can, there was no telling where the rest had gone.

Wherever it was, it made her even happier, even gigglier, even lighter, and it made the lake seem so appealing, she just needed to have a swim.

But not in the new pants. She didn't want them to get wet.

It wasn't even twenty minutes before her friends were yanking her out of the water, not even caring how much she squirmed or whined... But why? And why the panic in their faces?

"Vega! Pants!" Jade yelled, but Tori was stumbling a little, and by the time Officer David Vega came by, Cat and Jade had just managed to get her wet legs into the tight, uncooperative jeans.

And before she could think of a good excuse - there was none to think of - Tori and her five friends were crammed in the police car as David drove silently, eyes burning with anger.

"Vega?" An unfamiliar voice came in through the speaker. "You tell the skank to put her clothes back on already? I got us some donuts, and man, these things are a cop stereotype for a reason."

David sighed heavily.

"It's my daughter and her friends, Frank. I'm taking them home. Save me a chocolate one."

And as the silence reigned again and Officer Vega parked the car right outside their house, it began to dawn on Tori just what she had done, and the shame started to grow.

"Wait for me in the living room, all of you."

None of them hesitated to obey. Tori followed her friends into the house while her father stayed in the car for a moment, groaning something into his speaker. She didn't even dare say a word, very aware that she was the only reason they had all gotten in trouble in the first place. Awkwardly, she took a seat between Jade and Cat, looking straight ahead and praying for the buzz to wear off soon.

The door slammed as David stomped in.

"You are all idiots." He stood in front of the TV, purposely avoiding his daughter's stare. "You think we don't know you guys drink from time to time? We're not stupid. But for fuck's sake, do it in public and you get this! Victoria, look at me."

She turned her gaze to her father, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"If you'd gotten drunk at home, I wouldn't even be mad. Hell, you could have gone to any of their houses and gotten drunk and I still wouldn't be mad. But to do it for the first time in a public place, and- and get naked! What the fuck did you think you were doing? I raised you better than this. And why didn't any of you stop her, huh? Were you all having too much fun watching your friend get shitfaced and make a fool of herself in the middle of a public place?"

The room was silent for a few lingering seconds before Beck chimed in.

"Excuse me, Mr Vega, but we tried. Your daughter was too busy trying to pull _her girlfriend, Jade_, in with her. Who, by the way, brought all the booze."

"Beck!" The latina hissed at him, eyes locked on Jade, whose face was completely expressionless save for a slight twist of displeasure at the corner of her mouth.

"Well, he should know."

"Well, _you_ shouldn't be the one to tell him, buttface!" Cat's voice was completely unamused. "Will you stop with the stupid jealousy for a _second_?"

Robbie grabbed the little redhead's arm, and he could swear he saw a hint of amusement in the officer's face for a moment.

"Chill out."

"But he was..."

"Chill. Out."

David looked them over with a frown.

"Beck, I don't care who brought what. You all drank, didn't you?"

"Uhm... I didn't." Andre raised his arm awkwardly, jiggling the car keys he'd just fished out of his pocket. "Designated driver, Mr Vega. My car's still in the parking lot across the street from the park, by the way. Any chance I can go get it?"

"I'll take you there on my way back to the station. Now, the rest of you, I'm calling your parents. It'll be easier if you just leave me their numbers, but if you're stupid enough to give me a fake one, there are other ways I can get it, and then things will get uglier, you feel me?"

They all nodded, and David handed Beck the tiny notepad that he kept in his pocket, along with a pen. The boy quietly scribbled down a name and a number and passed it on to Robbie, sighing quietly.

When Tori got the notepad from Cat and gave it to Jade, she saw the girl's pale hands shaking slightly as she wrote down the number. One exchange of looks, and she knew exactly why.

It was definitely not just the drinking issue.

Beck had just outed them to Tori's father, and while he hadn't even acknowledged it yet, they knew he had heard it loud and clear, and that he'd be speaking to the brunette's parents shortly. Long story short, Jade could be getting in trouble for two very different things at once, and at the worst possible time.

**ScissorLuv:** So, how bad is it?

**ToriVega:** Not that bad, I guess. Grounded for two weeks, yelled at for like an hour, but nothing I didn't really have coming.

**ScissorLuv:** And the hangover?

**ToriVega:** That's the real punishment. I've puked twice, and my head is murdering me.

**ScissorLuv:** That's what you get, kiddo.

**ToriVega:** He was nice enough not to tell my mom or Trina, though. All I have to do is pretend like I don't want to go out for the next two weeks.

**ScissorLuv:** And did he mention the other thing?

**ToriVega:** Nope. I'm kinda scared. How was it on your end?

**ScissorLuv:** He's not home yet. I gave your dad his cell though, so he could have called already. She's out with her lady friends. Right now I'm cuddling Bugs and considering jumping out the window, if it weren't for the fact that I live on the ground floor.

**ToriVega:** You scared?

**ScissorLuv:** Normally I'd say I'm not afraid of him. But the pile of cut-up paper at my feet tells a whole different story.

**ToriVega:** I'm sorry. Actually, I should apologize to everyone. Fuck.

**ScissorLuv:** Yeah, you screwed up.

**ToriVega:** Are you too mad at me?

**ScissorLuv:** Depends on the outcome of this.

**ToriVega:** If you need to hide here or something...

**ScissorLuv:** Gotcha.

**ToriVega:** Also, Beck sucks.

**ScissorLuv:** I already tore him a new asshole on the way out. Don't even mention that creep. I swear, if my dad kicks me out, it'll be his fault.

**ToriVega:** And mine.

**ScissorLuv:** Nah, if he still hasn't divorced my mother, there's no way he'd kick me out for one drunken mess. A lesbian affair, on the other hand...

**ToriVega:** Fuck. I'm so sorry.

**ScissorLuv:** Stop. You already apolgized. We'll talk about this after... Well, after whatever he has in store for me.

**ToriVega:** Keep your phone on.

**ScissorLuv:** Will do.

Jade was already asleep when she heard the slamming of a door, the sound startling her into a sitting position. Hidden in the darkness of her bedroom, she slid further down under the blanket, the dark green fabric leaving out just the top of her head as she pretended to sleep. Maybe, if he thought she was asleep, he'd leave the scolding for the next day, when they were both calmer.

Maybe.

The room went lighter as the door opened suddenly, and she stayed as still as she possibly could. Footsteps got closer and closer to her bed, and the blanket was yanked away in one swift pull.

"Let me get this straight." The tone in her father's voice was dangerous, and not the usual kind of danger Jade felt when she got scolded. This was different, more bitter, more... Something. "You already dress like a dirty whore. You even got yourself jumped by wiggling that half-naked ass around all the time. You threw away everything you could be and decided to ruin your future by going to some art school that your mother somehow convinced me to pay for. And if that wasn't enough disappointment, you actually decided to go the extra mile to become just like your mother and get your ass arrested for underage drinking."

_Nope. This won't fucking hurt me. I'll just pretend it's not. This chest pain? That's nothing. Absolutely nothing. Breathe and get the fuck over it, Jade, you deserve it. There isn't a word he's saying that's not true, except..._

"I didn't get arrested. We went straight to Tori's house."

And then there was something she hadn't felt in a few months already, something that surprised her only because of how sudden it was: her father's hand against her face, so hard it kept stinging long after it was gone.

"So if you hadn't been caught, what the fuck would you have done?" His voice was almost feral now, fingers tangling roughly in her hair to make her look in his eyes. The pull was necessary, she knew it was, and she had it coming - but all it did was bring back some very unnecessary memories.

Before she could get too far into the flashback, her father released his grip on her hair with an expression of disdain.

"You think that just because something bad happened to you, it gives you the right to go around drinking and causing a public scandal?"

"It wasn't me! I just had a few shots and minded my own business! Tori was the one who got naked!"

"And I bet you were about to join in. You're just like your mother when I met her, Jade. My daughter, just another teenage whore."

The numbness was kicking in fast, and for that she was grateful.

"Just give me my punishment and let's get this over with." Jade groaned to her knees, refusing to look him in the eye again.

Another smack to her face, the same side as the other, doubling the burning sensation.

"I'll talk as much as I want to, and damn it, you're going to fucking listen."

"I'd rather you just hit me a few more times."

"You just want marks so you can play the victim at school tomorrow. Poor little Jade. Her daddy hit her poor little face." He mocked, reaching for the shoe she'd left on the floor - a black boot with a sturdy wooden sole.

_With a sturdy. Wooden. Sole._

Jade didn't know how many times he'd hit her, but she would count the bruises on her thighs and ass later, and be sure there were more somewhere. Honestly, she'd gladly take a beating ten times harder, if it could get her rid of the feeling that she had given her father the ultimate disappointment. Dressing like a slut was the first, and wanting to become an actress, the longest running, but only now had she finally become, in the eyes of her father, what she had always feared: a copy of the woman he regretted marrying, and who, deep down, Jade knew he regretted ever having loved.


	25. Stubborn bitch

**_ToriVega: _**_Hey. Let me know when the bomb has dropped._

_**ScissorLuv: **__Oh, it dropped already._

_**ToriVega: **__How bad was it? Did you get grounded?_

_**ScissorLuv: **__Let's just say I didn't._

_**ToriVega: **__Let's say more._

_**ScissorLuv: **__Leave it, Vega. I'm pissed enough as it is._

Which was only partially true. As Jade paced around her bedroom in search of something to do, anything to focus on besides the dull ache in her chest, anger was just one of the many emotions swirling in her head.

_**ToriVega: **__Do I need to go over there and kick someone's ass? Or rescue you like Sleeping Beauty or some other generic princess?_

_**ScissorLuv: **__As much as I appreciate the intention, sit your ass down and stay home. I mean that._

_**ToriVega: **__Aye aye, captain. But do you need anything?_

_**ScissorLuv: **__Remember why Beck was constantly frustrated with me?_

_**ToriVega: **__… Why?_

_**ScissorLuv: **__Because I'm a jerk. For example, right now, I don't want to talk to you at all. I'll see you at school._

_**ToriVega: **__… Uh… Okay?_

* * *

When the two girls met at school the next day, it was a brief meeting to say the least. Jade's eyes avoided Tori's to the point where it was almost ridiculous, but their gazes didn't meet once, and the more the Latina tried to analyze the situation, the more confused and honestly heartbroken she became.

It started early in the morning, after a frustrated attempt at a conversation by the lockers. While Jade hung around, silent and almost unmoving, Tori made her way to the still mostly empty classroom. More out of habit than anything else, she saved the girl a seat by her side… And after a moment of consideration, took two notebooks and used them to save two more chairs, one in the same row as Tori's, the other on the opposite side of the classroom. It might have been overkill, but mostly, it was an experiment – a strange but effective way to find out how big she had screwed up.

But as Jade entered the classroom a few minutes later, with Cat walking behind her like a puppy, she didn't even seem to notice the saved seats. Instead, she claimed a chair in the row behind Tori's and stared blankly at the wall, the redhead nestling by her side with a panicked expression. It was only seconds before a new text appeared in Tori's phone.

_Please please please tell me you know what happened to her._

So it wasn't just about the episode in the what was it?

_Not a clue. Do you at least know something? Anything?_

_ I have a guess, but… It only happened once before, when we were about twelve and her dad caught us kissing. I mean- sorry._

_ Dude, I don't care about *that* right now. I wanna know what's wrong._

_ Don't yell at me!_

_ I'm not even yelling! Just… What happened that time?_

Tori heard a very audible sigh from behind her and glanced at the short girl, who was typing furiously on her phone, while Jade kept an absent gaze fixated on the board.

_It happens often. It's been going on since I can remember, with both of us. That time, though, something was different. Something inside of her kind of changed, in a bad way. I'm getting worried this is the same thing._

It sounded serious. A bit _too _serious.

_Anything we can do about it?_

_ Just be patient. She'll be different for a few days. Let me do the work, okay? No offense, but you're not practically her sister. I am._

_ Understood. Just keep me posted._

_ Will do. And Tori?_

_ Hm?_

_ How are you? I mean… Did your dad punish you too bad for the thing in the park? Do you need something?_

Tori had been so caught up in wondering how Jade was doing, she didn't even know how to answer the question. _Did _she need something? Sure, there was a little something making her chest hurt, and it sure as hell wasn't angina. But then again, what could Cat do about it?

Well, there was one thing…

_A hug would be pretty nice._

And the next thing she knew was that a pair of skinny arms was wrapping around her from behind, and a tan chin was resting on her shoulder with a soft giggle.

"You didn't have to wait for me to ask, okay?"

Tori had to admit, the hug idea was quite effective to take some of that weight off her chest. Granted, it wasn't the hug she wanted, but it was warm and comforting, and she didn't feel like complaining about it at all.

It was only a minute before Robbie's voice came in through the door, oblivious to the heavy air in that corner of the room.

"Tori, why are your notebooks scattered around the class?" He chuckled, retrieving the two notebooks from the chairs they were on. Tori just received them with a dry chuckle, stuffing them into her bag before slumping back in her chair.

"What's goin' on here, kids? You're all tense." Andre's voice followed, and he took his seat beside the Latina, arching a brow at the two girls behind them. "Still mad about the stuff that happened at the park, Jade?"

And the reply came not in a glare or an inappropriately rude scream, but in an expressionless shrug and whisper.

"I'm fine. Just a headache."

It was as convincing as the time she'd tried to convince them she hadn't stolen Andre's grandmother's brand new scissors just because they were "huge and heavy".

Cat's fingers laced with the girl's instantly, which didn't bother Tori for the reason you'd think. She had no problem with her girlfriend's best friend touching her – obviously, to an extent – and the gesture was innocent and sweet. What she did have a problem with was being unable to help at all.

… Or was she?

As Beck entered the room, the Jewish boy waved to his friends and shot them an apologetic smile before moving with Beck to the other side of the classroom, far away from Jade. Granted, Beck had screwed up, but Robbie felt a little bad for leaving him all alone in the corner. This was all an observation in the corner of Tori's mind; her thoughts were mostly of what she could do to cheer up her girlfriend even a little bit.

In a way, this was Tori's escape. Instead of focusing on her own mess – granted, many times smaller than Jade's, but still unsettling – she would move it to the back of her head and instead think about Jade. And Cat. And Andre. And Robbie. And Beck. And Trina. And whoever else she had to think of to distract from the very obvious fear of what her parents would say when she got home.

From the time she and her friends got home from the failed picnic to the moment she entered Trina's car to go to school that morning, not a word had been spoken about the revelation. It was clear that her father had heard it loud and clear; his younger daughter and the girl he'd helped get closure on her assault were _together._ And there was nothing to say on the matter? Not a word? Not a "hey, it's cool", or a "you're sick", or anything in between? What about Trina? Did she know? Why hadn't she at the very least made fun of her sister – if not for her sexuality, then for her choice?

Yes, it was definitely easier to think about Jade and whatever could be going on in her strange mind. What could she do to make it better? And how to even begin to think about this if she had no idea what "it" was?

And as the class began, her mind was full speed ahead. When it ended, the first thing she did was grab Cat by the arm and run with her to the janitor's closet, not stopping until they were both inside and the door was closed.

"TORI! This is kidnapping!" She squealed, freeing herself from the latina's grasp with a harsh yank. "You don't do this to people!"

"Well, I wanna know what's going on! I mean, you don't have to tell me the details. Just tell me why my girlfriend is acting that way!"

Cat sighed and grabbed a nearby stool to sit on, her arms and legs crossed in visible frustration.

"You're not letting me out of here until I do, are you?"

Tori smirked.

"Nope."

"Then fine. But if you tell her, I'm toast. Toast!"

"Did anybody say _toast?_" Sikowitz's voice made the two girls jump up as he opened the door to the closet, laughing. "What are you girls doing in here? Nothing… _Shady_, I hope?"

Cat started to mumble something, but Tori cut her off.

"Nothing, nothing, we were just…"

"I was about to make a mistake, that's all."

And then Cat stormed off, leaving Sikowitz puzzled and Tori as frustrated as she was helpless.

* * *

**_HappyCat: _**_And that's how I almost told her everything. I'm sorry…_

**_ScissorLuv: _**_It's okay. You didn't._

**_HappyCat: _**_Are you mad at me?_

**_ScissorLuv: _**_Nah._

**_HappyCat: _**_Sad?_

**_ScissorLuv: _**_Something like it._

**_HappyCat: _**_What can I do? Want me to go over there and sleep over?_

**_ScissorLuv: _**_Do what you want._

**_HappyCat: _**_I love you, okay?_

**_ScissorLuv: _**_No idea why._

**_HappyCat: _**_Don't start with that again! You're scaring me!_

**_ScissorLuv: _**_You say "again" like it happens always. The last time I was in this state was five years ago._

**_HappyCat: _**_Everyone is worried. Everyone. Andre has asked me like fourteen times today what happened to you. Tori, well, you know what she did. Robbie was circling you like a puppy. And Beck sucks peepee._

**_ScissorLuv: _**_Still can't say dick, can you, kiddo?_

**_HappyCat: _**_Shut up and don't distract me!_

**_ScissorLuv: _**_I'm fine. Well no. But I will be._

**_HappyCat: _**_You weren't this sad when Sinjin hurt you._

**_ScissorLuv: _**_Well, it's different._

**_HappyCat: _**_I'm going over there. I'm going over there and you and I are going to talk this over. If he's in a bad mood, he'll get me before he gets you._

**_ScissorLuv: _**_You're insane! You already have your brother to worry about._

**_HappyCat: _**_I'm not the one who needs protecting right now._

**_ScissorLuv: _**_I won't open the door._

**_HappyCat: _**_Then I'm gonna stand all night outside your door with a bag of candy and a bottle to pee in._

**_ScissorLuv: _**_Stubborn bitch._

**_HappyCat: _**_Same to you._

**_ScissorLuv: _**_Fine, come over. Whatever. But you know how I get. We'll have to share the bed and you'll have to do that thing you do to get me to calm down if I even start to talk about this shit. You brought this on yourself, Valentine._

**_HappyCat has signed off_**

* * *

**_A/N: _**_I hope you liked this chapter. My apologies for the delay. School and stuff. I'm in a sour mood, but I'm happy about this chapter, and once again thank you all so much for the reviews and love. Please keep them up! It keeps the story up too!_


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